Antonio Conte has said that he is confident Alvaro Morata will be fit to face Barcelona, adding that he plans to give the Spain international more minutes to regain his sharpness in the FA Cup fifth-round tie against Hull City on Friday at Stamford Bridge.
“Alvaro has been training with us regularly, every day,” Conte said. “His physical condition is improving. Tomorrow, he will play a part of the game. He will be ready for the game against Barcelona in the Champions League.”
Morata’s return does give the Chelsea coach two genuine senior strikers to pick from again as Olivier Giroud earned praise for a battling performance in 60 minutes on the pitch against West Brom.
The Frenchman is likely to lead the line again on Friday.
“In this moment, in every moment, it’s very important to have all your players available,” Conte added. “In this case, to have two No. 9s in Morata and Giroud … to have two options is very important for us. For a lot of time [this season], we tried to play with Hazard as a No. 9.”
“I think that, in the future it could happen,” he admitted. “If we decide to play with the three midfielders. During the game it can happen.
“But now, I think it’s very soon to answer this question. Don’t forget that we are playing with the [same] system from last season. In this case, in this system, it would mean Hazard, Pedro and Willian are out.”
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