Ahead of this evening's important Premier League game away to Brighton and Hove Albion, here is the Chelsea starting XI and the news of key absences
Later on this evening, at 20:00 BST, Chelsea will face Brighton and Hove Albion down on the South Coast for match day 34 of the Premier League season.
The game was scheduled to be played this weekend, but has been put forward due to the FA Cup semi final with Leeds United this weekend.
Although the game with Leeds is more important, this game is crucial too, particularly to the teams UEFA Champions League hopes. Plus, given the recent form, restoring some confidence ahead of the semi final would be very useful for everyone.
For the task at hand, Liam Rosenior has opted for an XI of; Sanchez; Chalobah, Fofana, Hato; Gusto, Caicedo; Lavia, Fernandez, Cucurella; Neto, Delap.
Interesting to see a three at the back used. It could be with Neto and Delap as a front two, or with Neto and Fernandez forming a front three off of Delap.
Either way, it has not gone down well with the Chelsea faithful, who are already calling the move to revert to a three at the back as cowardly. Well, we will have to wait and see if that proves to be the case.
There is no room for Cole Palmer or Joao Pedro in the match day squad, with the bench consisting of; Sharman-Lowe, Acheampong, Tosin, Sarr, Santos, Essugo, Derry, Garnacho and Guiu. This is concerning just days before the aforementioned FA Cup semi final.
One exciting part of the line up will be seeing Hato on the left of a back three. He played very well against Manchester United last time out, and considering he has played both as a left back and as a centre back during his career, this particular role could suit him very well.
That said, it is a shame not to see Acheampong get the nod on the other side of the back three. We already know the level of Fofana and Chalobah, so why not give Acheampong a chance?
Also, it is a shame that despite the move to three central defenders, there is no room for Mamadou Sarr in the XI. If he stayed at Strasbourg, he could be playing every week, as captain, and with a European semi final to look forward to. What a completely stupid decision it was to recall him. Again.
Well, there was not much optimism to begin with. But there is much less now. Let's hope the team and manager can prove people wrong and get a huge three points here.
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