Chelsea boss, Thomas Tuchel, has confirmed that both N’Golo Kante and Hakim Ziyech will start Thursday’s FA Cup fifth-round tie against Barnsley at Oakwell Stadium.
Tuchel said he would be selecting a strong side to face Barnsley, including Kante and Ziyech, adding that changes will be made to keep the rest of the squad fresh.
Chelsea head to the game after beating Sheffield United 2-1 in the Premier League last weekend.
“There’s a high possibility that we will see a lot of changes,” Tuchel confirmed at his pre-match press conference on Wednesday.
“Everybody deserves to be on the pitch and there are some players who have suffered from some of my decisions. It is a moment tomorrow for us to have fresh legs and fresh minds on the pitch.
“N’Golo will start tomorrow, and I’m so happy to have him back again. We put him on the pitch against Tottenham and he helped Everybody on the pitch, which is what he does.
“Hakim is another one who hopefully tomorrow we will see the best of him. We count on Hakim to do something different, no doubt about that. He has lots of quality and we count on him like everyone else, no doubt about that.
“He has had a good training week and tomorrow he will have the chance to show the same quality and determination he shows in training.”
Chelsea defender, Antonio Rudiger, has taken a thinly-veiled swipe at a former manager, Frank Lampard and hailing his replacement Thomas Tuchel, as a coach “who knows what he wants”.
Tuchel remains unbeaten as the Blues boss ahead of their FA Cup clash with Barnsley on Thursday.
After a 0-0 draw with Wolves in his first match, Tuchel has guided Chelsea to wins over Burnley, Tottenham and Sheffield United.
Read Also: EPL: Chelsea Reacts To ‘Clash’ Between Lampard, Kante
Rudiger had been frozen out by Lampard at the start of the season and he was recently forced to shoot down rumours that he played a part in his sack.
But he has praised the new manager’s instant impact.
“The most important impression he’s made is that he knows what he wants,” Rudiger told Sky Germany when speaking about Tuchel.
“He has his way of playing football, which is positive for many players. This is also reflected in the latest results. This has been a good, positive start for him.”
The kick-off time for Barnsley vs Chelsea is 9pm.
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