N’Golo Kante could be in line for a rest with Mateo Kovacic replacing him while Olivier Giroud should start when Chelsea take on Everton in the Premier League.
Chelsea will be aiming to continue their unbeaten start to life under Thomas Tuchel and strengthen their grip on fourth place in the Premier League table when they take on Everton at Stamford Bridge on Monday night.
Leading into the game, the manager does not have any pressing injury concerns as both Thiago Silva and Tammy Abraham have recovered from their respective fitness problems and returned to training last week.
Despite Silva’s availability, Chelsea are likely to stick with Andreas Christensen at the heart of their three-man defence owing to the form that the Dane has shown in recent games. Flanking him on either side will once again be captain Cesar Azpilicueta and Antonio Rudiger while Edouard Mendy mans the goal for the Blues against Everton.
Callum Hudson-Odoi will be pushing for a start at right wing-back but Reece James could be preferred once again to cope with the dual-threat posed by Richarlison and Lucas Digne on the flank. On the opposite wing, though, there could be a change with Marcos Alonso likely to come in for Ben Chilwell, who has started the last couple of matches.
Another major change that may happen on the night could come in midfield, where N’Golo Kante is in line to be given a breather despite his brilliant performances in the last two games. Speaking of the Frenchman last week, Tuchel stressed on the point that his game-time needs to be managed carefully due to fitness issues.
“He comes from injury. He will not play now all games 90 minutes before we arrive at the international break. We have to manage him. We do this now with our physical coaches and we have to take care that he arrives fit until the national break and when he comes back, this is normally the momentum where I hope we can rely on him in every game,” Tuchel said.
This should pave the way for Mateo Kovacic to return to the Chelsea starting lineup on Monday, with the Croat partnering Jorginho in the middle of the park against Everton.
Moving into the final third of the pitch, Mason Mount has been in red-hot form and has to be one of the first names on the team sheet for Tuchel and Chelsea. However, he may be in for a change of partners in the attacking midfield slot, with Timo Werner dropping behind from the centre-forward position, making room for Olivier Giroud to start at the top.
Chelsea Predicted XI: Mendy; Azpilicueta, Christensen, Rudiger; James, Kovacic, Jorginho, Alonso; Mount, Werner; Giroud
