Having progressed in the FA Cup by defeating Charlton Athletic in our third-round clash at the Valley on Saturday, the Blues' attention now turns to hosting Arsenal at Stamford Bridge in the League Cup.

The game will be Rosenior's first in the home dugout and presents an opportunity for Chelsea to take control of the two-legged tie.

We will be without Mosies Caicedo on Wednesday evening as the Ecuadorian midfielder serves a one-match suspension. Whether Gusto, James and Palmer feature remains to be seen, with Rosenior keen to give the trio time to prove their fitness.

Speaking at his pre-match press conference, which took place this afternoon at Cobham, the new head coach explained: 'Obviously, Moi is suspended – and he was marvellous in the last game – but we've had no injury problems coming out from Charlton, which is a really, really good thing.

'I'll make a decision on Cole, Reece and Malo tomorrow; I'm giving them some extra time. I appreciate that doing the press conference two days before is not ideal – sorry about that – but I've got time to make a decision [as to whether they are available].'

Gusto, James and Palmer were all left out of the squad for what Rosenior described on Saturday as 'precautionary' measures. And the Blues' head coach emphasised this afternoon that there is no major concern over any of the trio.

He said: 'They're being managed and it was a good time for them to rest in the FA Cup game. I believe in this group, and there is no reason to take risks on players' health if you believe that we can win the game.

'It means they can come through and get extra training sessions and extra bits of work, and that's the way it's worked out so far.'