Lewis Hall will return to the Chelsea starting lineup when they lock horns with Manchester City at the Etihad on Sunday.
It has been a dismal campaign for Chelsea so far, and they find themselves in the bottom half of the league table. Chelsea will be looking to finish the season as strongly as possible, and a win over Manchester City on Sunday could give them a major lift in terms of morale.
Manchester City have already won the league title and could look to ease off ahead of the two finals next month. Meanwhile, Chelsea have a number of injury problems ahead of Sunday’s high-octane clash against Manchester City.
Chelsea caretaker manager Frank Lampard confirmed during the pre-match press conference that Mason Mount, Reece James, Ben Chilwell, N’Golo Kante and Marc Cucurella are all ruled out with injuries. He added that Kalidou Koulibaly has resumed training over the last week.
But the Senegal international might not be ready for a game of high intensity because of the lack of match fitness. Meanwhile, Benoit Badiashile picked up an injury in training a couple of days ago and is likely to miss out with a groin problem.
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“Injury-wise, we’re pretty much similar to where we have been recently, in terms of Mason, Reece, Chilly, N’Golo and Marc Cucurella are not fit,” said Lampard.
“Koulibaly has been training with us over the last week but is probably not really ready for a game like this, but he is ahead of schedule to be fair. Benoit injured himself in training two days ago, his groin, and will miss the game. We’re assessing that now as we speak.”
Chelsea are set to start in a 4-3-3 formation, with Kepa Arrizabalaga in goal. Trevoh Chalobah and Lewis Hall are likely to be deployed as the full-backs. The two players will look to create counter-attacking opportunities for their side and help out during transitions. In the centre of the defence, Thiago Silva will start alongside Wesley Fofana.
Enzo Fernandez will be the controller in the midfield, with Connor Gallagher and Ruben Loftus-Cheek on either side of him. The three players will look to add physicality and drive to the Chelsea midfield. Finally, in the attack, Raheem Sterling and Noni Madueke will be deployed as the wingers. And Joao Felix is set to lead the line.
Predicted Chelsea XI: Kepa; Chalobah, Silva, Fofana, Hall; Loftus-Cheek, Fernandez, Gallagher; Madueke, Felix, Sterling