Mauricio Pochettino’s pre-match interview before meeting Newcastle spreads bad news and optimism

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Chelsea’s head coach Mauricio Pochettino brought bad news and hopefulness to his pre-match interview ahead of another game with Newcastle United today.

Both teams have shared vital history this season, especially for the fact that Chelsea stopped the future opponents from reaching the Carabao Cup final this year.

However, this oncoming competition will catch Chelsea in a vulnerable state as several of the Blues’ key players are currently dealing with injuries.

Bringing update on Levi Colwill whose knee was out of shape, the Argentine gaffer said:

‘We need to wait until he has seen a specialist. We hope it is not a big issue but in this moment, after eight or nine months at the club, I prefer to be cautious and wait.

‘It was his knee and we only found out after the game [against Brentford]. It was the same with Colwill. We finished with two players who then couldn’t train. Levi’s problem is his toe.’

Something was reportedly still wrong with Marc Cucurella’s fitness, so Pochettino did not know whether he would be available for selection too.

‘So we’ll need different solutions to deal with these injuries. Maybe we see if (Marc) Cucurella arrives in good condition or if we need to change the way we play.

‘We have been focused in the last three days on providing the team the best balance with all the possibility to be consistent and perform in the way we need to perform.

‘Of course, we know Newcastle and can assess Newcastle, but the most important thing is the balance we are going to find the balance in the team, be consistent and perform in the way we need to perform.’

Fans of Chelsea disliked the following bad news, but the coach hoped that at least one of the sidelined skippers would be back soon.

‘So far, no [players are back]. It’s the same situation as last week. You all know the list of injured players and also it now has Levi Colwill and Ben Chilwell.

‘Gallagher also hasn’t been training because he has had a virus. That is the news from the medical team. We will see tomorrow or Saturday if he [Gallagher] will have the possibility to train.

‘The problem with this situation is that [after an illness] the energy is down and you need time to recover. We will see if he can be available and ask what is the situation.

‘Can he play? Play only a few minutes? We will need to assess him in the next few days.’

Whatever the case, matches between the two sides this year have always been interesting. Both are also still struggling to win anything memorable this season.