Chelsea predicted line-up vs. Spurs: three changes made as £115m midfielder looks to shine

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Chelsea begin an extremely difficult run of Premier League fixtures with the short trip to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Monday evening – and Mauricio Pochettino will still be without a number of important players for the game against Ange Postecoglou’s league leaders.

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There were positive developments, at least, from the midweek EFL Cup win over Blackburn Rovers, with Reece James and Benoît Badiashile both getting minutes as they make their returns from injuries – but a number of players are carrying knocks and may be doubts for the match against Spurs.

We’ve corralled all the latest team news and injury updates ahead of one of the weekend’s most enticing fixtures, and hazarded our best guess at Chelsea’s starting line-up below.

Goalkeeper & Defence

James managed an hour or so before being withdrawn against Blackburn, with Pochettino saying the full-back felt tired after 15 minutes of second-half action. He will likely play at least some part against Spurs, although whether that’s as a starter or from the bench remains unclear, with the manager saying “we need to be careful” as the club manage his fitness. Badiashile played his first game of the season in the midweek match and scored one of Chelsea’s two goals, but is more likely to be on the bench on Monday.

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Three defenders are still firmly unavailable, with Ben Chilwell slated for a December return while Trevoh Chalobah continues to battle a hamstring injury. A serious knee injury means that Wesley Fofana won’t be back in blue for some time. Spurs, meanwhile, may be without Destiny Udogie and Ben Davies, with both battling to return to full fitness ahead of the match.

Midfield

Both Enzo Fernández and Cole Palmer suffered worrying knocks during a physical encounter at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday, although neither injury is believed to be serious and both should be able to play despite being withdrawn from the action in the second half. £115m summer signing Moises Caicedo looks certain to start.

A bigger question mark is over the fitness of Ukraine international Mykhaylo Mudryk, who has now missed the last two games with a knock of his own – he is viewed as fifty-fifty for the game against Spurs pending further updates from Pochettino, and is more likely to start from the bench if he’s ready to play at all.

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Romeo Lavia is definitely out with a persistent ankle injury, while Carney Chukwuemeka is more than likely to miss the game with a knee problem – although he is unlikely to be unavailable for any great length of time. Spurs have no fresh injury worries in midfield.

Forwards

There is some uncertainty over whether Albanian forward Armando Broja will return to action on Monday, with the striker having missed the games against Arsenal and Brentford. He could well be fit but more will hopefully be revealed in Pochettino’s pre-match press conference. Christopher Nkunku is the other definite absentee, with a December return the most optimistic prediction. Israeli winger Manor Solomon is the only forward expected to be absent for the home side.

Sánchez; Cucurella, Colwill, Silva, James; Fernández, Caicedo, Gallagher; Sterling, Palmer, Jackson.

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