Alvaro Morata and Cesc Fabregas will miss Chelsea’s EFL Cup semi-final second leg clash against Arsenal on Wednesday.

The tie is evenly poised following a tense, goalless first leg at Stamford Bridge but Chelsea will be without two key men for the return as a result of injuries suffered by their Spanish duo.

Conte will, however, have defender Andreas Christensen available for selection after he recovered from a head injury sustained at the Amex Stadium.

Speaking to reporters at his pre-match news conference on Tuesday, Conte said: “Morata and Fabregas are out; they are not available for the Arsenal game.”

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“Morata has a problem in his back.”

“Then, I have to check a couple of situations, before making the best decision [on selection].”



Arsenal will be without the services of Alexis Sanchez following his move to Manchester United, but they will also be unable to call upon the cup-tied Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who came the other way in the deal.

But Conte believes those absences will have no impact on the match, saying that Arsenal were also without Sanchez in previous meetings with Chelsea.

“I think Arsenal has a good squad,” Conte said. “If you remember the game at home in the league, Sanchez didn’t play.”

“The same in the EFL Cup, he only played 10 minutes. I don’t see any advantage about this situation.”
http://sportxclusive.com/2018/01/23/chelseas-alvaro-morata-cesc-fabregas-sidelined-second-leg-arsenal-clash/