Chelsea have dropped an intriguing team news hint ahead of their clash against Arsenal on Tuesday night. While the remainder of the season is largely redundant for the Blues, Mikel Arteta will be hoping to get the Gunners' title charge back on track.
Manchester City stormed past the north Londoners 4-1 on Wednesday evening, courtesy of goals from Kevin De Bruyne (2), John Stones and Erling Haaland. The Premier League champions, who have two games in hand, are now just two points behind Arsenal and Pep Guardiola looks primed to defend his crown.
The west Londoners will be eager to pile on the misery, but they're winless in eight games, have scored just once in April and they've shown little intensity in their play. With Lampard in desperate need of a catalyst to fire his side into action, the Chelsea caretaker manager could turn to Lewis Hall and Omari Hutchinson.
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The Blues duo were omitted from the Under-21s squad to face Brighton in the final game of Premier League 2 on Friday night. Hall and Hutchinson have played an integral role in the Development Squad's season thus far, helping Chelsea climb into the top four.
Earlier this week, Lampard insisted that Mykhailo Mudryk, Noni Madueke and Carney Chukwuemeka will be given their chance in the first-team in due course. The 44-year-old explained how players can earn an opportunity under his stewardship.
Ahead of Chelsea's clash against Brentford, Lampard said: "If they deserve it, for sure. There are two things. There's the individual work, showing you deserve it. I'm fully for that.
"During my first period at the club, I came in with a transfer ban and losing big players and everyone said, 'of course, the young players get in the team'. They got in the team because they deserved it with how they trained.
"That's a culture and a way you have to have at a top football club. I don't think changes just for the moment, I think it should always be there.
"Players have to train, those seven games and days of training are all opportunities every day to try and show you deserve to be in the team. As I think I've probably shown as a coach, if you do that, you'll always get an opportunity with me."
It remains to be seen whether Hall and Hutchinson will make the Blues' squad to face Arsenal but if not, their time will surely come at some point next season.
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