How Chelsea could line-up against Tottenham in Carabao Cup semi-final with Kante in line for return after Covid absence

CHELSEA will look to book their place in the Carabao Cup final when they face Spurs in the second leg of their tie on Wednesday evening.

Thomas Tuchel's men take a comfortable 2-0 advantage to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium following a routine win at Stamford Bridge last week.

And Chelsea could be boosted even more by the return of midfield maestro N'Golo Kante following his recovery from Covid.

It remains to be seen whether the Frenchman will be fit enough to start - with centre-back Thiago Silva also hoping to have got back up to speed following his positive test.

Reece James and Ben Chilwell remain sidelined, with Trevoh Chalobah also set to miss the second leg.

But despite those defensive abenstees, Tuchel is still expected to start with a back three - changing from the 4-2-2-2 formation he used in the first leg.

If that is the case and Cesar Azpilicueta drops back into the three then that could mean Christian Pulisic occupies the right wingback role - as he did for the final 10 minutes against Spurs last week.

Alternatively, Hakim Ziyech could also fill in on the right side.

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Edouard Mendy is now at the Africa Cup of Nations with Senegal so Kepa Arrizabalaga will take up his place in between the sticks.

Marcos Alonso will provide the width on the left flank, with the in-form Mateo Kovacic likely to partner the returning Kante in midfield.

This will mean there is no place for Saul Niguez - despite the Atletico Madrid loanee beginning to find his feet in England.

And then in the forward areas Tuchel will likely go for Kai Havertz, Mason Mount and Romelu Lukaku.

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However, the German coach has a number of other options he may choose to opt for instead.

These include Pulisic, Ziyech, Timo Werner, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Ross Barkley.

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Chelsea have not won the Carabao Cup since they beat Tottenham 2-0 in the final in 2015.

And they have reached the final just twice in the last 13 years - the other time coming in 2019 when Manchester City beat them on penalties.

Just 72 hours after their second leg against Tottenham, Tuchel's men travel to Premier League champions Manchester City in a clash which could effectively end their title hopes.

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