32min: Klose is able to walk away on his own after being checked by the physiotherapist and appears to be okay to continue for the time being.
30 minutes: Pulisic tries to wriggle through the middle, but cannot find enough space. He collides with Klose after losing the ball and his stand, and the Norwich defender doubles up in pain and holds his right knee.
29min: Similar game from Azpilicueta from the other side, but Giroud postpones his attempt far from the good cut.
27min: Zouma steps forward and finds Alonso pulling back from the sidelines to find Pulisic in the area. Pulisic’s first left foot is not quite in the near post and instead finds a side net. Good chance.
26min: Willian wins the ball in midfield and wants to storm forward, but RLC turns around and plays Jorginho, who continues to play safely backwards.
24min: Cantwell pulls another midfield foul. Drinking break!
22min: Cantwell plays around Alonso and has space to run, but Jorginho has a tackle / foul. Even escapes a yellow card.
20 minutes: Jorginho reaches for Giroud, who is surrounded by three. One of them wins the header, but it is backwards and Giroud has the chance to put one towards the goal. There is not much strength in it and Krul catches easily. Almost happy.
18min: Rüdiger reaches for Alonso, who wins the first header, but Norwich the second. The ball then hits Kovačić on the arm to give Norwich a chance to clear her lines.
16min: Jorginho tries to join Pulisic, who does worse when he tries to win the ball in front of the defender’s clearing foot. Pulisic stays down for a minute when Alonso pounds a shot, but can then get up and continue.
15 minutes: Norwich dares forward and starts a couple of crosses, but Chelsea defends well enough, Azpi heads clear.
14min: Nice combinations of Chelsea on the right again, but the change finally breaks down when Giroud’s dismissal finds only a yellow jersey.
12min: Azpi again played a 1-2 with Willian, but the return ball is a bit too strong and runs over the line before Azpi can take the cross.
11min: The last Azpi cross is deleted shortly before an arriving Giroud on the nearby post.
10 mins: Jorginho loses the ball, but RLC is there to win it back. He becomes aware of his problems as he and the Norwich player get the ball. Looks okay to continue.
9min: Willian tries to find an Azpilicueta underlap, but Norwich cuts it out and can counter it. Willian returns to recover the ball.
6min: RLC’s cross is blocked for a corner that Willian takes. Norwich’s head clearly on the near post.
5 minutes: Zouma switches to Alonso, who plays a nice 1: 2 with Pulisic and shows a fantastic cross, but no one is there to take her home.
3 minutes: Pulisic loses the ball, but then wins it back for Willian, who spins the field and takes Chelsea to the last third. Azpi eventually crosses from the right and finds RLC on the near post, but he can’t quite direct his sharp header to the goal and only finds a side net.
2 minutes: A couple of early forays through the visitors, but Zouma relatively easily leads a Cantwell pass outside of the borders.
KICKING OFF: Norwich gets us going and keeps a bit of possession.
Chelsea are in third place, one point ahead of Leicester City and Manchester United. Fifth place is no longer enough to qualify for Europe. Fate is in our hands.
Norwich City has already relegated. This shouldn’t be a competition. Should be…
So it will probably be nervous and scary and weird and emotional.
Loftus-Cheek starts as both sides make 4-5 changes from the weekend.
Here we go!
Chelsea line-up (4-2-3-1):
Arrizabalaga | Alonso, Zouma, Rüdiger, Azpilicueta (c) Loftus-Cheek, Jorginho, Kovacic | Pulisic, Giroud, Willian
Replacement of: Caballero, Christensen, James, Tomori, Barkley, Mount, Hudson-Odoi, Pedro, Abraham
Lineup from Norwich City (4-2-3-1)
Krul | Lewis, Klose, Godfrey, Aarons | McLean, Tettey (c) | Hernandez, Cantwell, Rupp | Drmic
Replacement of: McGovern, Vrancic, Buendia, Stiepermann, Trybull, Pukki, Idah, Thomas, Martin
Appointment time: Tuesday, July 14, 2020, 8.15 p.m. CET; 3:15 p.m. EDT; 00:45 IST (next day)
Venue: Stamford Bridge, SW6
Referee: Jonathan Moss (on the square); Martin Atkinson (VAR)
On TV: Sky Sports Main Event (UK); NBCSN (USA); Star Sports Select HD1 (India); Channel + Sport 2, SuperSport 1, SuperSport 3 (NGA); elsewhere
Streaming: Sky Go (Great Britain); NBC Sports Live, Telemundo deports En Vivo (USA); Hotstar (India); DStv Now (NGA)
Be great with each other and keep celebrating, boys!
