Chelsea predicted line-up vs Preston: £50m star man returns as three changes made

New year, new Chelsea? That will be the hope of Blues fans ahead of the side's first game of 2024, after a harrowing 2023 saw the west Londoners blunder their way from one low to the next, with baffling recruitment and an endless run of dismal performances seeing Chelsea going from an elite, trophy-winning machine to an utter shambles under their new ownership. That said, there's reason for fresh optimism at Stamford Bridge, with the Blues heading into this weekend fresh from back-to-back Premier League wins. What's more, they've got a seemingly kind draw in the FA Cup third round, being paired up with Championship also-rans Preston North End in a home tie.

Ahead of Saturday's clash at Stamford Bridge, we've got the latest team news, injury updates, and an educated guess at Mauricio Pochettino starting line-up:

Chelsea injury updates

We'd have had an easier job bringing you news of who isn't injured, in all honesty. Chelsea will be without as many as eleven senior players ahead of the Lilywhites' visit, with the growing schedule demands of modern football seeing the Blues become one of a number of Premier League sides decimated with absences over the festive period. In goal, summer signing Robert Sanchez looks likely to be out until later this month with a knee injury. At the back, Wesley Fofana continues to undergo his rehabilitation process after suffering an ACL injury during pre-season, and he's joined by Trevoh Chalobah (thigh) and Reece James (hamstring) among the long-term absentees. Left-back Marc Cucurella will be out of action for at least a couple of months, after undergoing ankle surgery, while Ben Chilwell is back in training, and will be eyeing a return this month. France international Benoit Badiashile missed Chelsea's 3-2 win over Luton Town last weekend, but Pochettino played down concerns over his condition, suggesting he may well be fit for this weekend. In midfield, promising youngster Carney Chukwuemeka has returned to training, but there's still no word on a possible return date from his knee injury. Big-money signing Romeo Lavia also missed out on the trip to Luton, and there's still no word on the severity of his complaint. Elsewhere, Lesley Ugochukwu is out for up to six weeks, after suffering a recurrence of a hamstring injury against Wolves on Christmas Eve.

Chelsea team news and predicted XI

Given the mountain of injury concerns, and the fact Chelsea have a Carabao Cup semi-final first-leg against Middlesbrough to contend with next week, the Blues' starting line-up is a particularly tricky one to predict this week. Will Pochettino put all his eggs in the League Cup basket, given the prospect of returning to European football by winning the competition, or will he focus more heavily on more historically reputable FA Cup? Let us know, Poch... please. One thing that's for sure is that, bar a miraculous recovery involving a quickfire knee transplant - something you really wouldn't put past Chelsea's new ownership, in truth - is that Djordje Petrovic will be in goal amid Sanchez's ongoing absence. The rejuvenated Malo Gusto looks likely to continue on the right side of a back four, with Levi Colwill set to continue his perplexing reinvention as a full-back on the opposite flank. Pochettino loves rotating his centre-backs, much to the chagrin of football writers cruelly tasked with anticipating his decisions. We're going to go out on a limb here, and back academy prospect Alfie Gilchrist will get a crack here after a couple of impressive cameos from the bench of late, and he could well be teamed up with experienced warhorse Thiago Silva in an intriguing centre-back pairing. This would allow Axel Disasi and Benoit Badiashile to rest their legs for the aforementioned trip to the Riverside Stadium.

Part-time Duracell Bunny impersonator and stand-in skipper Conor Gallagher will be raring to go in midfield, and the relatively weak opposition should necessitate just one of holding midfield pair Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez alongside him - we've gone with the latter on this occasion. Raheem Sterling has sat out the past two matches on the bench, but he could well return here on the left wing, with the in-form Noni Madueke a strong possibility on the right. £40m star boy Cole Palmer should be allowed to slot into his favoured, creative number ten role. The much maligned Nicolas Jackson will perhaps benefit from some time away from the spotlight, as he jets off to the Ivory Coast with Senegal for the Africa Cup of Nations. In his absence, Chelsea have just one recognised out and out striker in the shape of Albanian international Armando Broja. He'll no doubt be given the nod against Preston, but don't be surprised if Pochettino opts to stick Christopher Nkunku up top instead. Chelsea predicted XI: Petrovic; Gusto, Gilchrist, Silva, Colwill; Gallagher, Fernandez; Sterling, Palmer, Madueke; Broja.