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Football London
Football London
Sport
Rob Guest

The big Antonio Rudiger decision and Frank Lampard's substitute dilemma at Norwich City

Chelsea return to action on Saturday lunchtime as they face newly-promoted Norwich City at Carrow Road.

It's a very important game for Frank Lampard and his side after failing to win in the team's opening two fixtures of the 2019/20 Premier League season.

However, it certainly won't be easy with the Canaries impressing at Liverpool on the opening weekend and then beating Newcastle United 3-1 last Saturday.

Here we take a look at the main talking points ahead of Chelsea's trip to Norfolk as Lampard looks to clinch his first win as boss.

Rudiger's return

Lampard has a decision to make over whether or not Antonio Rudiger starts at Carrow Road.

The defender made his comeback on Monday evening as he played 90 minutes for the development squad in their 3-0 win over Liverpool.

Rudiger came through the game unscathed and he is now an option for the head coach for the match against Norwich.

Kurt Zouma and Andreas Christensen have started both of Chelsea's Premier League games so far this season and Lampard will have a tough choice to make over who misses out if Rudiger comes in.

However, he may elect to keep the team as it is and name the German international on the bench in place of Fikayo Tomori.

Antonio Rudiger makes his comeback against Liverpool U23 (Alex Pantling/Getty Images)

If the player doesn't end up taking to the pitch this weekend, it could be the following week at home to Sheffield United when he makes his return.

Leading the line

Another decision facing Lampard is who starts upfront against Daniel Farke's team.

Olivier Giroud got the nod last weekend against Leicester City and he made an impression in his 60 minutes on the pitch.

The Frenchman teed up chances for Pedro and Mason Mount inside the opening few minutes, before then doing brilliantly well to fashion a chance for N'Golo Kante with a stunning backheel.

Giroud was replaced by Tammy Abraham on the hour and the young striker only really had one chance that went high and wide of the target.

Michy Batshuayi could also be an option for the head coach after his two goals and assist in Monday's 3-0 win over Liverpool in Premier League 2.

The Belgian striker has yet to be named in a Premier League squad so far this season but the team need goals at present.

Substitute dilemma

If indeed Batshuayi does come into the squad then Lampard has an almighty dilemma on his hands as to who misses out on the squad.

Michy Batshuayi during the Premier League 2 match between Chelsea and Liverpool (Alex Pantling/Getty Images)

He has so far only gone with one striker on the bench as it's highly unlikely that two frontmen will be used on the pitch at any one time.

Marcos Alonso could potentially be sacrificed for another attacking option given that he will only come on if Emerson Palmieri is injured or performing poorly, while Willian may be the man to be left out going on his nightmare 20-minute cameo against Leicester.

It certainly will give Lampard a selection headache and this is even before the likes of Reece James, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Ruben Loftus-Cheek return from injury.

Getting that first win

It's imperative that Chelsea register their first win of the season on Saturday to get up and running in the league.

The Blues have played well in parts over the past two league games and we could well have been talking about two successive wins on another day.

Chelsea were outstanding in the opening 25 minutes against the Foxes on Sunday and they will get three points on the board if they replicate that display over the course of 90 minutes.

While you cannot win the league title in the opening few games of the season, you can most certainly lose it.

The club's top-six rivals have all started the new season well and Lampard's side cannot afford to drops points once again and fall even further behind with only three games on the board.

Lampard always had a good record at Carrow Road during his career and he will be hoping the same can happen now that he's in the dugout managing.

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