Aston Villa are reportedly interest in signing Chelsea star Nicolas JacksonAston Villa are reportedly interest in signing Chelsea star Nicolas Jackson
Aston Villa are reportedly interest in signing Chelsea star Nicolas Jackson | Getty Images
Chelsea welcome Tottenham to Stamford Bridge on Thursday night looking to cement their place in the top four.
Chelsea are hoping to get back to winning ways in the Premier League as they come back from the international break with a game against London rivals Tottenham at Stamford Bridge.
The Blues are fourth in the league table, hoping to cement their place in the Champions League spots, whilst Tottenham are desperate for a result in the league after failing to win any of their last three matches.
With big-name players on both sides of the game in doubt for Thursday night, there could be some tough decisions for both managers as we present the predicted lineups for both.
Chelsea team news
The biggest story for the Blues is that midfielder Cole Palmer is a doubt for the game as he is recovering from a hamstring injury. Nicolas Jackson is also hoping to make a return after spending the last two months out with an injury.
Noni Madueke has also been out for some time, hoping to make a return after the international break after he lost out on a spot in Thomas Tuchel’s England squad due to his hamstring.
Chelsea’s Predicted Lineup to face Tottenham
Sanchez, Cucurella, Colwill, Fofana, James, Caicedo, Fernandez, Palmer, Neto, Sancho, Jackson
Enzo Maresca could decide to line up like this as he is hoping that Palmer and Jackson are both going to be available to play on Thursday night.
Madueke is included but on the bench, so it means that Sancho keeps his place in the team, despite struggling to make an impact as of late. Reece James also gets a start after scoring a superb free kick for England during the international break.
Here is how the side last lined up
Sanchez, Cucurella, Badiashile, Colwill, Fofana, Caicedo, James, Fernandez, Sancho, Nkunku, Neto
Fofana started at full-back in Chelsea’s last game against Arsenal, which was a 1-0 defeat. He could move back to centre-back if Palmer starts, allowing Reece James to occupy the full-back slot.
Tottenham team news
Spurs also have several players in doubt for the game on Thursday night as they look to get back to winning ways too. Dejan Kulusevski is unlikely to play, and so is defender Kevin Danso.
Richarlison and Lucas Bergvall are both in doubt with Bergvall looking the most likely to feature against Chelsea on Thursday.
Tottenham Predicted Lineup to face Chelsea
Vicario, Udogie, Van de Ven, Romero, Spence, Bentancur, Maddison, Bissouma, Johnson, Son, Solanke
Tottenham’s first-choice centre-back pairing of Van de Ven and Romero returns after a long spell of injury concerns for both of them. James Maddison also gets a place in the starting XI over Lucas Bergvall and Archie Gray - Bergvall should see some involvement.
Son also comes back into the predicted lineup to replace January signing Mathys Tel, who has failed to find the net in the Premier League since joining from Bayern Munich.
Here is how the side last lined up
Vicario, Udogie, Davies, Romero, Spence, Bissouma, Gray, Bentancur, Tel, Johnson, Solanke
As mentioned, Van de Ven didn’t start in Spurs’ last game against Fulham, which could have been partly the reason why they shipped two goals, handing Marco Silva’s side the win before the international break.
Archie Gray started in place of Bergvall and Maddison last time and Mathys Tel started over Son.
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