Chelsea boss Frank Lampard to name strong team for Liverpool FA Cup clash as he provides injury update

Frank Lampard faces a defining few weeks in his first season in charge at Chelsea
Getty Images
George Flood2 March 2020

Frank Lampard is not overlooking Chelsea's clash with Liverpool and intends to name a strong team for the FA Cup fifth-round tie at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday night.

The inconsistent Blues are currently embroiled in a fierce battle for Champions League qualification in the Premier League, with Saturday's hectic 2-2 draw at Bournemouth - combined with Manchester United's subsequent stalemate against Everton - meaning they remain just three points clear of the chasing pack in fourth place.

Chelsea's hopes of reaching the quarter-finals of Europe's premier club competition appear remote after an emphatic 3-0 last-16, first-leg defeat by Bayern Munich last week.

But despite that return leg and several more key top-flight fixtures looming large on the horizon, Lampard is not planning to field a weakened side against Liverpool as he looks to reach the quarter-finals of the FA Cup.

In Pictures | Bournemouth vs Chelsea | 29/02/2020

1/28

"Cement and go for victory. It is Liverpool, our fans are coming in the FA Cup to try to overturn the best team in the land," he said when asked about possible rotation plans against the Premier League champions-elect.

"It doesn't mean I might not change a couple of people.

"There might be something for freshness of legs or a couple of different options, but I won't pick a team to casually give minutes... (I'll) treat it like I would any Premier League game."

Lampard added that England midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek - who has yet to kick a ball in anger this term after rupturing his Achilles tendon during pre-season - may play for Andy Myers' Under-23s against Everton on Monday night after remaining an unused substitute for the senior team against both Tottenham and Bournemouth.

He is also hoping that Callum Hudson-Odoi will be fit to face Everton next weekend after a thigh problem, though there remains no "clear answer" on the potential returns for Christian Pulisic (adductor) and Tammy Abraham (ankle).

N'Golo Kante also remains out, while fellow central midfielder Jorginho is eligible to face Liverpool but will miss each of the following three matches against Everton, Aston Villa and Bayern due to Premier League and European suspensions.

Additional reporting by the Press Association.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in