Chelsea will host Swansea City on Wednesday night as they look to carry on with their recent form and try and close the gap between the two Manchester clubs.
The Blues are coming off the back of a solid 1-1 draw with Liverpool last weekend and currently sit third in the Premier League table in third place, three points behind Manchester United and a further 11 behind high-flying Manchester City.
Antonio Conte’s men will not be short on confidence when the Welsh outfit visit Stamford Bridge, something Paul Clement’s Swans will be, as they sit in the relegation zone having just ended a run of five straight defeats with a 0-0 draw with AFC Bournemouth.
Team News
Chelsea will have to do without David Luiz for the match, as he has been ruled out with a knee injury.
Although injury news is never good for a club, the Londoners are expected to be able to cope with his absence as Andreas Christensen has recently been favoured at the back rather than the Brazilian in recent fixtures.
Conte could be finally set to welcome back Victor Moses to the fold after the Nigeria international returned to training following a serious knee injury that he suffered during the Blues shock London derby defeat to Crystal Palace back in October.
Willian will be pushing for a start following his most recent performance’s which have seen him net three goals in his last two matches – twice against Qarabag FK in the Champions League and the equaliser at Anfield last weekend.
Chelsea will be without Michy Batshuayi for the visit of the Swans with an ankle problem, whilst youngsters Charly Musonda (knee) and Kenedy (undisclosed) also remain unavailable for selection.
Predicted Starting XI: Courtois; Azpilicueta, Christensen, Cahill; Moses, Kante, Fabregas, Alonso; Willian, Hazard, Morata.
Swansea’s challenge to get anything out of the game with the reigning Premier League champions will have been made even more incredibly difficult with the absence of Tammy Abraham, as he is ineligible to appear against his parent club.
Clement will also be without skipper Federico Fernandez for the trip to the capital after the defender returned to Argentina following the death of his father, meaning Mike van der Hoorn is thought to continue to deputise.
Kyle Bartley also adds to the club’s defensive woes as he continues to remain on the sidelines following a knee ligament injury, with the Swans possibly looking to protect against damage limitation.
Predicted Starting XI: Fabianski; Naughton, Van der Hoorn, Mawson, Olsson; Mesa, Ki, Carroll, Renato Sanches; Ayew, Bony.
Background
Chelsea will be feeling confident about a positive result, as they have only been beaten once by Swansea in their 12 games in the Premier League, which happened at the Liberty Stadium in April 2016.
The Blues have won five and drawn once when it comes to meetings at Stamford Bridge and have been able to put at least two goals past tomorrow opponents in five of those previous meetings.