Pochettino confirms Chelsea defender will start vs Blackburn

Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino has confirmed that Reece James is fit to start against Blackburn Rovers in the Carabao Cup fourth round.

James made his comeback from a hamstring injury against Arsenal earlier this month but he has been restricted to cameos in his last two appearances.

Ahead of the League Cup tie, Pochettino has revealed that the club captain is going to start and he is looking forward to his performance.

He said: "I can confirm he is going to start. The captain is ready. It’s good for the team, it’s good for him to start from the beginning. We can see after, checking always how he is performing."

The Blues have had a poor start to the Premier League campaign and they are already 14 points behind league leaders Tottenham Hotspur.

The club are also 11 points behind the top four and may need to win a Cup competition in order to qualify for European football next term.