Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Football London
Football London
Sport
Sam Inkersole

Confirmed Chelsea team vs Atletico Madrid: Callum Hudson-Odoi starts, N'Golo Kante benched

Thomas Tuchel has made four changes to his Chelsea side as they take on Atletico Madrid in the Champions League last 16 in Bucharest.

The Blues head coach looks to have stuck with his five at the back preference as Cesar Azpilicueta, Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen all start with the latter replacing Kurt Zouma from the draw with Southampton.

Reece James also drops out with Callum Hudson-Odoi drafted in after his substitution only half an hour after coming on against Saints on Saturday.

Jorginho is back in midfield as he replaces N'Golo Kante and lines up alongside Mateo Kovacic and Mason Mount in what is now a familiar midfield.

Up front, Tammy Abraham is benched for the game having started at St Mary's as he is replaced by Olivier Giroud, who p[artners Timo Werner.

The Blues are without Thiago Silva this evening, who has failed to fully recover from a thigh injury sustained against Tottenham Hotspur which has caused him to miss the last three games.

Kai Havertz and Christian Pulisic are both among the Blues substitutes having missed out against Southampton at the weekend.

Hudson-Odoi is in the spitlight after his substitution on Saturday but Tuchel was happy with how the England international reacted to it.

"We decided to speak to him in front of the group," Tuchel said on Monday.

"We got the only reaction we wanted - he went back to normal mood, smiling and had a very good training."

Chelsea: Mendy; Hudson-Odoi, Azpilicueta, Rudiger, Christensen, Alonso; Jorginho, Kovacic, Mount; Werner, Giroud

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.