Thomas Tuchel has admitted that he had no idea Chelsea would be forced to play in front of a smaller crowd at Stamford Bridge due to sanctions imposed on owner Roman Abramovich.
The Blues host Arsenal in West London on Wednesday night, with only around 25,000 season-ticket holders expected to attend, compared to the stadium's capacity of more than 40,000.
And manager Tuchel admitted he was unaware of the ticket situation, urging fans to 'push a little harder' to compensate for the lack of supporters.
When told that only season-ticket holders would be present, the German looked perplexed until the situation was explained to him by the club's press officer.
'Oh, OK,' Tuchel added. That is not an advantage because we want to play at home, and we want to play in front of a full stadium, and the game is for the fans and spectators. That's actually bad news.' I was completely unaware of it. Perhaps someone told me and I forgot! Let's try to turn things around; perhaps everyone (there) is aware of this and pushes a little harder. We may be lacking in quantity, but we should not be lacking in quality of support.
'Last season, after Covid, it was the first time spectators were allowed at the Bridge; it was around 15,000 people, and the players said it felt like a full stadium.
'Hopefully, we can be the spark that gets everyone in a (better) mood.'
Chelsea cannot sell new tickets as part of the sanctions imposed on Russian Abramovich in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, but existing ticket holders can attend matches, giving season ticket holders a reprieve.
The oligarch, who the UK government describes as having a "close relationship" with Russian President Vladimir Putin, is not permitted to profit financially from his ownership of Chelsea. In March, he announced that he would be selling the club.
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