A first team squad of 20 players has landed in Bucharest ahead of tomorrow’s Champions League group stage game.
Eden Hazard, Marco van Ginkel and Kevin De Bruyne are the three players missing from the squad list for the competition announced at the beginning of the month. Hazard joins Van Ginkel on the injured list while De Bruyne is not selected.
There was steady rain at the airport on arrival and the travelling party will train this evening in the national stadium in the Romanian capital, the venue for the meeting with Steaua Bucharest, as it was for our Europa League away tie last season. Prior to training Jose Mourinho and one of the players will talk to the media at approximately 4.30pm UK time, with coverage of the conference available via the @chelseafc Twitter account.
There is a change to today’s journey from previous European away games, with the Chelsea Under-19 squad travelling on the same plane as the senior players.
Dermot Drummy takes a party of 17 to face Steaua’s equivalent side in the new UEFA Youth League, kick-off for Tuesday’s game at 2pm UK time with live coverage on Chelsea TV.
The Under-19s also train today in the venue for their match, the 1000-capacity Mogoşoaia Stadium on the outskirts of Bucharest. It is part of the National Football Centre, the training base for the Romania national team.