MX23RW : Wednesday, May 15 05:31:27| >> :120:26003:26003:
[monks data]
Crystal Palace logo
Premier League | Gameweek 34
Jul 7, 2020 at 6pm UK
Selhurst Park
Chelsea logo

Crystal Palace
2 - 3
Chelsea

Zaha (34'), Benteke (72')
Milivojevic (35')
FT(HT: 1-2)
Giroud (6'), Pulisic (27'), Abraham (71')

Frank Lampard praises Jorginho's professionalism and hints at recall

Frank Lampard praises Jorginho's professionalism and hints at recall
© Reuters
The Italian had fallen out of favour.

Chelsea manager Frank Lampard has praised the professionalism of Jorginho as he looks set to recall the midfielder in place of the injured N'Golo Kante.

Kante suffered a hamstring problem in Saturday's Premier League win over Watford and, while Lampard revealed it is only a "low-level" issue, he is expected to miss the next two games.

The Blues face Crystal Palace on Tuesday night and Sheffield United on Saturday, with Kante likely to be absent for both.

"Kante won't be in the squad," Lampard said ahead of Tuesday's London derby at Palace.

"It is a low-level hamstring injury. We are hoping it will be a week or so.

"We will see how it goes but I would expect we would be very lucky to have him for Sheffield United."

With Kante sidelined, it is expected that Italy international Jorginho will replace him in the heart of the Chelsea midfield.

The 28-year-old was a regular in Lampard's side ahead of lockdown but has yet to play a single minute since the season resumed.

Lampard would not be drawn on why the former Napoli player has seemingly fallen out of favour but has been pleased with Jorginho's reaction.

"I don't want to go into personal details of positional and tactical reasons why I pick a team, I just pick a team how I see best and they are my choices," he said.

"He (Jorginho) has been very professional about it, he wants to play as every player does.

"It is one of the hardest parts of the job – telling a player they are not playing, particularly when they train well.

"Jorginho always trains well but he has handled it professionally and that is what I would expect.

"It is important that players, over the course of a season, in a competitive squad like we have are there to support players when they are out – and he has done that, to be fair."

If they can win at Selhurst Park, Chelsea will move ahead of Leicester into third place – with the Foxes playing later in the evening away at Arsenal.

Three wins from four since the restart have seen Chelsea close the gap, while Manchester United have also kicked on.

Lampard conceded United's form means they are the main threat from the chasing pack to Chelsea's top-four ambitions.

"They are a very strong team and have been in great form for a very long period of time," he said of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side – who sit two points adrift of Chelsea and will face the Blues in an FA Cup semi-final later in the month.

"They've got really good individual players and you have seen the momentum they have gained at this part of the season, their front three are all scoring lots of goals.

"They are the biggest threat from behind but this is the Premier League, it looks like that today but it is how the teams now finish the season, going game by game."

ID:405382: cacheID:405382:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:4416:No Data Analysis info
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Divock Origi celebrates scoring for Liverpool against Everton in the Premier League on December 4, 2019.
Read Next:
Owen claims Liverpool decided against Werner due to Origi
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Manchester CityMan City37277393336088
2Arsenal37275589286186
3Liverpool372310484414379
4Aston Villa37208976562068
5Tottenham HotspurSpurs371961271611063
6Newcastle UnitedNewcastle361761379572257
7Chelsea361691173611257
8Manchester UnitedMan Utd36166145256-454
9West Ham UnitedWest Ham371410135971-1252
10Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton361212125458-448
11Bournemouth37139155365-1248
12Crystal Palace371210155258-646
13Wolverhampton WanderersWolves37137175063-1346
14Fulham37128175159-844
15Everton37139153949-1040
16Brentford37109185461-739
17Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest3789204766-1929
18Luton TownLuton3768235081-3126
RBurnley3759234076-3624
RSheffield UnitedSheff Utd37372735101-6616


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!