When Liam Rosenior will make triple decision vs Arsenal as Chelsea anxiously wait for verdict
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Chelsea are waiting to learn whether Malo Gusto, Reece James and Cole Palmer will be available to face Arsenal in the Carabao Cup semi-finals.
Arsenal make the short trip across the capital on Wednesday night to Stamford Bridge for the first leg of the semi-final, with Chelsea heading to north London for the reverse fixture at the beginning of February.
Head coach Liam Rosenior will manage his first home game in charge of the Blues and will be hoping to continue his unbeaten start to life with the Club World Cup winners.
The 41-year-old is aware of the threat and quality Arsenal possess, so Chelsea will require their best players to put in a high-quality performance should they want to take a positive first leg lead to the Emirates.
Unfortunately for Chelsea and Rosenior, Moises Caicedo is suspended for Wednesday's clash after picking up a yellow card - his second of the competition - in the previous round against Cardiff City.
A huge game awaits on Wednesday night.
— Absolute Chelsea (@AbsoluteChelsea) January 12, 2026
Switching focus to the 1st leg of our Carabao Cup semi-final tie against Arsenal! 🔜🔵 pic.twitter.com/AE4dakOe8B
Meanwhile, Gusto, James and Palmer were all absent in Saturday's 5-1 win over Charlton Athletic in the FA Cup third round.
Rosenior is hoping the trio will be available to face Arsenal, however a late decision will be made on their inclusion, with Chelsea not prepared to take any risks.
"We've had no injury problems coming out from Charlton, which is a really, really good thing," confirmed Rosenior on Monday.
"I'll make a decision on Cole, Reece and Malo tomorrow. I'm giving them some extra time. Doing the press conference two days before is not ideal. Sorry about that, but I've got time to make a decision.
"I haven't made a decision on the team. I will make that decision tomorrow or the morning of Wednesday."
Rosenior added: "They're being managed. It was a good time for them to rest in the FA Cup game. I believe in this group. There's no reason to take risks on players' health if you believe that you can win the game and they can come through and get extra training sessions and extra bits of work. That's the way it's worked out so far."
Matt Debono leads the editorial team which covers Chelsea On SI. He has witnessed Chelsea win it all, whilst also featuring on ITV News, SPORTbible and various other publications.