Chelsea team news and predicted line up: Giroud set to start Europa League clash vs Slavia Prague after demanding more game time
Frenchman has warned he could walk away from Blues in summer if Maurizio Sarri does not play him more
OLIVIER GIROUD is set to lead the line for Chelsea against Slavia Prague after demanding Maurizio Sarri play him.
The fed-up Frenchman warned he could walk away from the club in the summer if he is not given guarantees about his game time.
Sarri has opted to play struggling loan striker Gonzalo Higuain and winger Eden Hazard ahead of Giroud this season.
But he looks likely to start Giroud, 32, in the Blues' Europa League quarter-final second-leg tonight at Stamford Bridge.
The former Arsenal forward has scored nine goals and set up two more in just eight Europa starts this season.
Chelsea take a 1-0 lead into the clash thanks to Marcos Alonso's late winner in Prague.
The Spaniard also looks set to keep his place in the team despite falling out of favour in the Premier League.
Antonio Rudiger is out with a knee injury meaning Gary Cahill should return from his five-month exile to the squad.
Chelsea's best chance of Champions League football next season could be winning the Europa League and Sarri is sure to field a strong starting XI.
It means Slavia Prague boss Jindrich Trpisovsky is likely to get his wish of seeing Eden Hazard in action.
Trpisovsky wants the Blues to treat them with respect and hopes their star man features.
He said: "'I think that Hazard's on the same level as (Lionel) Messi and (Cristiano) Ronaldo; he's in the same category if you ask me.
"I think currently he's the best player in the world. Not many people can play at his level. I really like watching him.
"And I'd love for him to play tomorrow. Because if he plays tomorrow that means Chelsea take us seriously. And if we win tomorrow we would beat the best Chelsea, and we would be respected. So we hope the best players will be here tomorrow.
"Willian played in Prague and we would like to see him again. Against teams like Chelsea you cannot just focus on one player, you have to focus on all of them."
Chelsea assistant manager Gianfranco Zola insists the Blues are not prioritising the Europa League.
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He said: "I say it is another route, but we still have a chance in the league.
"We lost against Liverpool, but there are still games to play and we will play until the end.
"We don’t think about just the Europa League. We still have a very good chance."