Sports Mole takes an in-depth look at how Chelsea could line up for Thursday’s Premier League London derby with Tottenham Hotspur.
Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino will presumably have to cope without the departing Thiago Silva for Thursday’s Premier League London derby with Tottenham Hotspur at Stamford Bridge.
The 39-year-old, who is confirmed to be leaving the club at the end of the season, picked up a groin injury in the dying embers of the weekend’s 2-2 draw with Aston Villa and is one of a whopping 13 concerns for the hosts to manage.
Wesley Fofana (knee), Reece James (thigh), Romeo Lavia (thigh), Lesley Ugochukwu (thigh), Malo Gusto (knee), Ben Chilwell (knee), Carney Chukwuemeka (knee) and Enzo Fernandez (hernia) are definitely out, while last-minute decisions will be made on Raheem Sterling (back), Robert Sanchez (unspecified), Christopher Nkunku (thigh) and Levi Colwill (toe).
As a result, Pochettino may have no option but to call upon the youngsters to fill his bench again, but he at least has a senior replacement ready and waiting to deputise for Silva in the shape of Axel Disasi.
The Frenchman will form a familiar central pairing to fans of Ligue 1, reuniting with ex-Monaco teammate Benoit Badiashile, as Trevoh Chalobah and Marc Cucurella also protect Djordje Petrovic.
With Fernandez recovering from his operation, Conor Gallagher – scorer of a terrific equaliser at Villa Park – will reprise his deeper role with Moises Caicedo, who also put in an enterprising performance at the weekend.
Cole Palmer – now fully recovered from an illness – pulls the strings just ahead of the duo alongside Noni Madueke, Mykhaylo Mudryk and Nicolas Jackson, who left the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with the match ball under his arm in November courtesy of a first Premier League hat-trick against the nine-man Lilywhites.
Chelsea possible starting lineup:
Petrovic; Chalobah, Disasi, Badiashile, Cucurella; Caicedo, Gallagher; Madueke, Palmer, Mudryk; Jackson
> Click here to see how Tottenham could line up for this match
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