Lampard planning changes for Brighton game

Frank Lampard is set to make changes for Chelsea’s game against Brighton on Saturday.

The Blues face Real Madrid in the second leg of the Champions League quarter-finals next week, having lost 2-0 in the first leg.

It came after a defeat at Wolves in Lampard’s first match at the helm since returning as interim boss.

And he plans to rotate the squad for the visit of the Seagulls to Stamford Bridge:

Lampard explained: “I want to be part of a process in this period where players have an opportunity – if they train (well) and they deserve to play, they get an opportunity on the pitch and they show what they can do.

“Tomorrow will be an opportunity for some players that didn’t play in the Champions League and possibly didn’t play at the weekend to come in.

“It’s a game where we absolutely need freshness and energy. So every opportunity, they should take.”

That might mean an opportunity for striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who has been largely overlooked since being brought to the club by ex-Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel.

Aubameyang came on as a substitute against Wolves.

Asked about the former Arsenal man’s potential role, Lampard said: “We’ll see on that one.

“I don’t want to go position-specific. What I do want to say is that the players have to feel that when they train and prepare, that the competitive nature we have in the squad to get in the team needs to be high in every position.

“Auba’s a bit like everybody in the squad, whether you’ve been starting before or not starting so much, you have to compete in training and show that you’re worthy of a place.

“And of course his history says he has a fantastic goalscoring record. So we’ll see.”

Meanwhile, Kalidou Koulibaly has been ruled out of this weekend’s game and the Real clash.