Morata set for Chelsea return

CHELSEA head coach Antonio Conte says there is no risk attached in playing striker Alvaro Morata against Roma tonight.

Morata i s expected to return from a hamstring injury as Chelsea bid to make it three wins from three games in Champions League Group C.

Conte said: “I could take a risk on Saturday to force (Morata) to play against Crystal Palace but I’m not so stupid.

“I’m not taking a risk if I decide for Morata to play (against Roma).”

Morata suffered the injury in the 1-0 loss to Manchester City and Michy Batshuayi was ineffective in a poor performance as Chelsea suffered a second successive loss at Palace.

Conte i s without key midfielder N’Golo Kante and Victor Moses (both hamstring), plus Danny Drinkwater (calf), against Roma.

But the Italian says it is the fixture schedule which is placing demands on his players and he is having to take risks by not rotating his “thin” squad.

“The problem is we are playing always the same players,” Conte added.

“We have players in our team who are not used to playing three games in a week. Kante, it’s the first time. For Moses, the first time.

“For Morata, it’s the first time to play regularly for his team. For (Marcos) Alonso it’s the same.

“When you have a lot of games, you need to rotate players. If this is not possible, I have to take risks.”

Alvaro Morata has seven goals in nine for the Blues.