Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel will be hoping to get back to business on Wednesday night when his side host Tottenham Hotspur at Stamford Bridge.
With a spot in the League Cup Final up for grabs, Tuchel will know that anything short of a professional performance from his side will give Antonio Conte’s much-improved Spurs side the chance to cause an upset in this first leg.
Unfortunately for Tuchel, Chelsea are currently without a number of important first team players. Even if they will now welcome back their star striker.
In defence, Tuchel is likely to stick with his tried and tested back three, with Cesar Azpilicueta, Thiago Silva and Malang Sarr stepping in due to injuries to Andreas Christensen and Trevoh Chalobah.
Ben Chilwell and Reece James remain out of action, so Callum Hudson-Odoi and Marcos Alonso will likely take their place in the right and left wing-back positions.
In midfield, Tuchel should be able to rely upon the experienced pairing of Mateo Kovacic and Jorginho, with Mason Mount set to play just ahead of them alongside Hakim Ziyech.
Following his meeting with the Chelsea manager, Romelu Lukaku has been cleared to return to the first team and is expected to lead the line for his club on Wednesday.
How Chelsea could line up against Tottenham
