Having given an injury and Covid update - very much a case of no news is good news – the boss turned his attention to those players who he will be able to call upon when the Spireites visit Stamford Bridge.

With the start of our FA Cup campaign sandwiched between a flurry of matches against top-level opponents, it was put to Tuchel tomorrow’s outing presented him with a chance to make full use of his squad.

‘We have to find a good balance,’ he recognised.

‘We have to be fair to guys who are playing after injuries or Covid, and also have a mix with guys who are used to having minutes in the last games. We want to be reliable, and we want to use the match to get some minutes into guys who desperately need it and want it, like Timo [Werner] for example.

‘There is still training today and one or two Covid tests to do, so hopefully the situation stays as it is now. We will find a strong line-up and show all the respect to Chesterfield.

‘You can lose any game in football, that’s why the game is so popular,’ he added on the prospects of a famous Cup upset.

‘Of course we are favourites. We want to win and we demand it from ourselves, but we respect the game and any opponent. We have to deliver, and we must have a strong squad that is ready to enjoy these minutes.’

Tuchel said Ross Barkley was one of those in contention to start, and there had been no discussion as yet regarding the possibility of the midfielder moving out on loan this month. Efforts to try and recall Emerson Palmieri are ongoing, added Tuchel, as are fresh contract talks with Toni Rudiger.

Regarding our overall January transfer plans, the boss was relaxed.

‘We are in talks with the staff and the board and the scouting, checking possibilities which we would always do. Given the fact we have some long-term injuries, we are looking into the market, but not under the very highest pressure.

‘Things have to make sense for us personality wise and position wise, and also quality wise. We have options and we will check them.’

Returning to matters on the pitch, one journalist wanted to know if we can expect to see Chelsea playing four at the back more often afer it worked so successfully against Spurs in midweek.

‘It has to make sense,’ Tuchel responded.

‘I have always said we shouldn’t change it if it’s successful and it suits our players. For a back three or back five you need three central defenders and two wing-backs, and we simply did not have the players available to play that.

‘We took the responsibility and risk and shifted into a back four while we were attacking. It’s possible the differences are not that big if it suits the players, which it did for that game. The most important is how we play in the system, how lively, how courageous we are within the structure which helps us be stronger. The players did very well, they were very disciplined, and it can stay an option.’