Enzo Maresca faces a big dilemma on Sunday afternoon as Chelsea make the long trip up to Liverpool to take on Everton in the Premier League.
The Blues, who can move temporarily - at least - top of the league table with three points at Goodison Park, are without the suspended Marc Cucurella. The Spain international was sent off following the final whistle of Chelsea's 2-1 win against Brentford at the weekend. Cucurella was shown a second yellow card for shoving Kevin Schade - with the Bees forward also picking up a booking.
The 26-year-old defender will now serve a one-match ban against the Toffees on Sunday afternoon, leaving Chelsea with a selection dilemma in the back-four. Renato Veiga looks to be the obvious replacement for Cucurella with the Portugal international acting as deputy to the Spaniard thus far this season.
With just a 72-hour turnaround for the trip to Goodison Park, Veiga may well be asked to go again on Merseyside. One option could be Moises Caicedo moving to right-back, as have seen in recent weeks, but with Romeo Lavia a major doubt, it begs the question over who would start alongside Enzo Fernandez in midfield.
Speaking after the win against Shamrock, Maresca said: "Romeo [Lavia] probably will struggle to play Sunday. We will see. It depends. And then the rest are all clear."
Lavia has been sidelined with a hamstring problem after being subbed off at half-time in the victory at Tottenham earlier in the month. So Veiga looks to be more of a likely option than Caicedo at full-back but another solution might be bringing Josh Acheampong into the Premier League side.
It is a bit of a wildcard option but one that Chelsea supporters would love to see. The 18-year-old, who has just penned a new contract with the club to end a period of uncertainty about his future, has been used in the last two UEFA Conference League games against Astana and Shamrock. In those couple of matches, Acheampong has been superb and has deservedly received a lot of appraisal.
Asked by football.london earlier this week whether Acheampong is ready to feature in Premier League matches as well, Maresca was sure that is indeed the case. Also, in the same answer, he said he would want the teenager to stay with the club rather than seek out a loan move away in January or the following summer.
"My personal opinion is that he has to stay close to us," Maresca said on Acheampong. "So as much as we can keep him here, it's much better."
If Acheampong does start at Goodison on the right-hand side of a defensive four, then expect to see Malo Gusto then used on the other flank. Gusto has been used at left-back numerous times throughout his Chelsea career. Notably so, in the defeat to Liverpool at Anfield earlier in the season when Reece James was fit and playing on the right side.
Acheampong, despite still being a teenager, stands at 6ft 1in tall, so could be effective when playing against a very physical Everton team led by the infamous Sean Dyche. It will be a huge step up from anything Acheampong has dealt with in his senior Chelsea career to date but the whole club loves and trusts the talented defender. While it would be a tad surprising to see him in the XI against Everton, it is certainly not out of the question entirely.