Thomas Tuchel has reported Thiago Silva and N’Golo Kante miss tonight’s match against Tottenham because they have tested positive for Covid.

They are two of six changes the boss has made to his side from Sunday’s thriller with Liverpool, and he explained why a couple are enforced when asked if there were fresh cases in the camp.

‘Yes, unfortunately Thiago Silva and N’Golo Kante,’ said Tuchel.

‘It’s huge for us because they are two huge players. We had the last information today in the morning, so it is quite challenging, but we will push. The guys who are here have our trust and our belief.

‘We will push things to the maximum. The situation hasn’t changed since some weeks ago, it’s not the moment to repeat it, from here we are looking for solutions. I have trust in the guys who play and hopefully we put in a strong performance.’

Romelu Lukaku is back in the starting line-up.

‘I am happy he is on the pitch today,’ said Tuchel.

‘We can listen to this interview 100 times and it will not get better, but we can shift our focus. We accept it happened, he has accepted it happened, and we have enough reasons to move on.

‘Now we need to protect him and push him because he’s our player and we want him to, and he wants to be, a key player.’