Chelsea head coach Liam Rosenior will make a late call on whether Cole Palmer, Reece James and Malo Gusto are involved against Arsenal.
The trio sat out of Saturday’s 5-1 FA Cup third-round win at Charlton as a “precaution”, with Rosenior explaining they had small knocks from the Fulham game last week.
Offering an update on Monday, Rosenior said his final decision would be made on Tuesday as to whether Palmer, James and Gusto can face the Gunners in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday.
“We had no injury problems coming out of Charlton game, which was a really good thing,” Rosenior said.
“I’ll make a decision on Cole, Reece and Malo tomorrow [Tuesday]. They’re being managed.
“It was a good time for them to rest in the FA Cup game. There’s no point taking risks when you feel you can win the game [without them].”
Chelsea will be without midfielder Moises Caicedo because he is suspended following a second yellow card in the competition in December’s win at Cardiff.
He was sent off in the last meeting between Chelsea and Arsenal, and on Wednesday he will serve his third suspension of the season already.
But Marc Cucurella is back available after serving a one-game suspension of his own at Charlton.
Rosenior could choose between Alejandro Garnacho or Jamie Gittens on the left wing, but both started at Charlton and he may prefer to use Pedro Neto there instead.
Chelsea predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Sanchez; Gusto, Fofana, Chalobah, Cucurella; Fernandez, James; Estevao, Palmer, Neto; Delap
Injured: Colwill, Lavia
Doubts: Palmer, James, Gusto
Suspended: Caicedo
Date and time: 8pm GMT on Wednesday January 14, 2026
Venue: Stamford Bridge
