Tottenham need just one point to seal Premier League safety.
Chelsea are set to host Tottenham Hotspur at Stamford Bridge in what is the penultimate game of what has been a difficult Premier League season at N17.
The Blues will rub shoulders against the Lilywhites this Tuesday night, but they will be prepping for the game without knowing whether they will have their most important attacking player fit for the game, as Brazilian centre-forward Joao Pedro will be a big doubt when the kick-off comes around.
Pedro picked up thigh problem at Wembley
The former Brighton man picked up a thigh problem in Chelsea’s FA Cup final defeat to Manchester City last weekend, and he was subbed off in the 86th minute.
While the fact that Joao Pedro was running around on the Wembley pitch with the thigh problem for over 50 minutes after the initial scare suggests that the injury is not quite serious, Chelsea don’t have a lot of recovery time between the final and when kick-off comes around this Tuesday.
And this will hand caretaker boss Calum McFarlane every reason to pick his side with a bit of caution with the 24-year-old.
Chelsea predicted lineup vs Tottenham: How McFarlane is likely to line up vs Spurs
The Blues are expected to keep on with the 3-4-2-1 structure which did produce some competitive performances against both Liverpool and Manchester City. This structure also happens to be in line with the one that Xabi Alonso used through his time at Bayer Leverkusen, where he went invincible in the German top tier.
So when kick-off comes this Tuesday, the Blues may effectively end up showing how they intend to play when the former Real Madrid man takes charge next season.
Robert Sanchez will continue in goal after he made his comeback at the weekend, and in front of him will be the trio of Wesley Fofana, Levi Colwill and Jorrel Hato, making a three-man defensive line. Colwill has only recently come back from his ACL injury, and he has seamlessly slotted back into the heart of defence.
Pairing the back three would be Malo Gusto and Marc Cucurella in the wing-back role, with the highly regarded defensive duo of Moisés Caicedo and Enzo Fernández continuing to pair up in the second phase. McFarlane will need to make a decision in that RWB role, with it looking like Reece James dropping back to the bench.
In the event that James fails to start, Gusto slots into the right wing-back space, while Neto will play as one of the two attacking forwards behind Delap. With no Pedro (or at least the possibility of it), Liam Delap will be deployed as the main striker, and then he will have Cole Palmer and Pedro Neto behind him in those creative roles.
Chelsea predicted lineup vs Tottenham: Sanchez; Fofana, Colwill, Hato; Gusto, Caicedo, Fernandez, Cucurella; Palmer, Neto; Delap