Chelsea may have already booked our place in the last 16 of the Champions League as the winner of Group E, but that does not mean Graham Potter is committed to making wholesale changes when we take on Dinamo Zagreb on Wednesday evening.
Whatever happens at Stamford Bridge, the Blues will finish first. Home and away wins against AC Milan, backed up with last week’s success in Salzburg, have earned us the rare pleasure of a game without plenty riding on it.
The pressure may be off, but when asked if he would be selecting some of the Academy hopefuls who featured in men’s first team training today, the likes of Lewis Hall and Zac Sturge, Potter said it was ‘not a time to use young players for the sake of it’.
‘We have to prepare to win,’ the head coach stated at his media conference.
‘We’re at home, we want to finish the competition off well at this stage, and respond to the disappointment at the weekend.
‘We have used a lot of the young players. A lot of them have been impressive. I like their character and their personality.
‘Getting closer to the Academy guys and getting to know them has been an important part of how we’ve started here at Chelsea, but we have to be competitive and respectful of the competition with teams looking for the points for their own qualification.’
A more experienced player hoping to make his first Chelsea appearance is Denis Zakaria. The Swiss international has been an unused sub in each of our five Champions League group games to date, as well as our four most recent domestic fixtures.
He is yet to get on the pitch but Potter recognised there is a chance that will change in SW6 tomorrow when asked about the 25-year-old’s status.
‘As I’ve said before he’s been really good, he’s trained well, he’s supported his team-mates,’ Potter responded.
‘Obviously he’s been disappointed not to play, like everybody is, but up until the weekend results have been positive, we’ve been trying to take steps, but he’s in the frame for tomorrow. He’s available for selection and we will wait and see.’