Chelsea's Capitol One Cup preparation hits a snag

Chelsea’s flight out of Japan, where they have just played the World Club Cup final, has been delayed.

Chelsea had hoped to leave Japan immediately after their final match against Corinthians today, but have been told they cannot fly due to noise pollution.

The European champions will now leave around 11AM, potentially arriving in the early afternoon, costing the Blues half-a-day’s recovery from jet-lag.

Chelsea are due to play Leeds United on Wednesday evening at Elland Road, for a place in the Capitol One Cup semi-final.

Chelsea are odds-on favourites for the Cup, with only Aston Villa, Swansea City, Bradford and Leeds United left in the competition.

Leeds may well prove to be their hardest match, with Chelsea having to recover from their travels, and then go north to Yorkshire to play their game in a below-freezing temperature.

Chelsea will be without an established defensive midfielder for the quarter-final, with John Obi Mikel suspended for the clash, and Oriol Romeu recently being ruled out for six months.

David Luiz or Ryan Bertrand are in my immediate thoughts to fill the role, alongside either Ramires or Frank Lampard.

I expect Luiz and Ramires to start the game, as Lampard started today’s final, and rarely starts two games so closely together.

I hope Chelsea can recover quickly from their travels, as this is a great opportunity for us to pick up an early trophy. I’m sure our squad depth will be used for this fixture, and rightly so. Come on you Blues…