Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has ruled Mason Mount and Christian Pulisic out of the club’s Premier League huge match against Manchester City.
The London side welcome Man City to Stamford Bridge on Saturday sitting joint-top of the table alongside Liverpool and Pep Guardiola’s side.
Tuchel’s side have taken 13 points out of a possible 15 so far this campaign and are already three points ahead of City ahead of Saturday’s game in west London.
Chelsea will once again be without Pulisic this weekend, and Tuchel revealed at his pre-match press conference on Friday that Mount is also out after suffering an injury during the EFL Cup game against Aston Villa.
Tuchel said: ‘Christian Pulisic is still out. For Mason Mount it’s too soon. He has a little minor injury from the Aston Villa game. He made huge progress but tomorrow is too soon. ‘Mendy is available and will start tomorrow.’
On Mount’s absence, Tuchel added: ‘He is very disappointed and I didn’t feel it during the [Villa] match because it was the second half and he played through the injury.
‘He finished the game, he was even confident enough to take a penalty. So it was a surprise. ‘The steps he is taking are huge, maybe he could’ve played if the game was one day later.
‘So it’s a minor injury but there is disappointment because he’s a player we rely on but the task is to find solutions now and to bring him back as soon as possible.’
‘Not so long ago there were a lot of voices that told me I don’t know how to beat Pep,’ Tuchel said when asked about his record against City’s Guardiola. ‘If I look at it honestly I see the last three games as three 50/50 matches.
‘I’m not only talking about before the matches but during the matches it could have been any outcome. Little details decide and you need a bit of luck.
‘I expect nothing else than a 50/50 match tomorrow. We want to fight hard to be the guys who have a better outcome. We did it several times with this team and we know how much we suffered also in these matches.
‘I have the highest respect for Pep. I’m a huge admirer of the impact he has had. This is something I hugely admire and this will never change.
‘Look at the trophies, look at the influence. There is absolutely no reason why I should ask myself if I’m a better coach or not. I’m a better coach today than I was yesterday and this is enough.’
