Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri believes Thursday’s convincing win over PAOK will have little bearing on his Premier League thinking.
The Blues responded from a first competitive loss under Sarri, after 18 matches unbeaten, to Tottenham last Saturday, with a fifth win from five Europa League Group L games.
Olivier Giroud scored twice, 18-year-old Callum Hudson-Odoi netted his first Chelsea goal and Alvaro Morata was also on target against 10-man PAOK.
But Sarri is set to revert to his first-choice line-up against Fulham on Sunday.
“In the last match the problem was the team, not one or two players,” Sarri said.
Giroud’s performance may not dislodge Morata as first-choice striker, particularly as the Frenchman appeared to suffer an ankle knock in the second half.
Eden Hazard should be available following an ankle injury, while Cesar Azpilicueta, David Luiz, Antonio Rudiger, N’Golo Kante and Marcos Alonso should be restored to the starting XI as Sarri seeks a response to the Spurs loss.
Despite an impressive performance against PAOK, Sarri reckons Hudson-Odoi is not ready for the rigours of the Premier League.
He says the teenager benefited from the early dismissal of Yevhen Khacheridi, for a professional foul on Giroud, which provided Chelsea with more space.
Sarri said: “I want to see him in a match where we need also the defensive phase.”
BATE Borisov’s win over Hungary’s Vidi earlier on Thursday meant Chelsea were already confirmed top of the group before kick-off and ahead of the December 13 trip to Budapest.
