Chelsea manager Antonio Conte has discussed some team news ahead of the Blues’ Carabao Cup clash against Everton this week.

Conte confirmed that N’Golo Kante (hamstring), Victor Moses (hamstring) and Danny Drinkwater (calf) are all still out of contention ahead of the cup game:

I think for the game against Everton, it is impossible to recover for Drinkwater. Moses needs more time and so does Kante.

The Italian boss also discussed who might get a chance to shine:

But I think this could be a good opportunity to give a chance to the young player like Charly Musonda, also Kenedy, young players who I think deserve the chance

Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images Sport

They are working very hard, they are improving and we can see the improvement against Everton which is a tough game. It is important for me, important for the club. We will do this

Musonda is one of Chelsea’s most promising youth prospects and there is certainly a feeling that the Belgian winger should be getting more game time — so he’ll have to justify that against Everton this week.

The Toffees come to Stamford Bridge off the back of a 5-2 defeat against Arsenal at the weekend and are on a poor run of form — they haven’t won since this time last month when they beat Sunderland in the last round of the Carabao Cup.

Tony Marshall/Getty Images Sport

Conte has joined Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho in criticising the competition:

Now, if I have to see in a selfish way, I can tell you I agree [that the Carabao Cup isn’t important

But, we have to try and find the best solution and I try to protect the teams who are playing in Europe. It is not simple

Richard Heathcote/Getty Images Sport

On the other hand, this type of game is important as it gives you the chance to see the improvement of the players who have not been playing. I don’t know. It is very difficult to say something about this

Chelsea’s next three games are the Everton fixture in midweek, followed by a trip to Bournemouth before a crucial game against Roma in the Champions League next week.