Chelsea take on Brentford at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night, with Frank Lampard still searching for his first win since taking over as interim manager following the sacking of Graham Potter.
The Blues look to be edging closer to the appointment of Mauricio Pochettino but could well be stuck with Lampard until the end of the season, and he risks tarnishing his legacy with the west London outfit unless he can drastically turn things around.
Brentford too are enduring something of a blip in the Premier League but still possess a lot of quality, and Thomas Frank’s side are certainly likely to cause problems at Stamford Bridge this evening when considering the form of attacking players such as Ivan Toney and Bryan Mbuemo.
How could Chelsea line up against Brentford?
We are expecting six changes from the side that started last time out in the 2-0 defeat against Real Madrid.
(5-2-3): Kepa; Loftus-Cheek, Fofana, Silva, Badiashile, Chilwell; Kante, Fernandez; Sterling, Madueke, Felix.
Kepa Arrizabalaga certainly hasn’t been to blame for the recent poor form and the Spanish shot-stopper looks likely to continue in between the sticks this evening.
There is one change at centre-back as Benoit Badiashile, who was strangely omitted from Chelsea’s Champions League squad, returns in place of Trevoh Chalobah, with Thiago Silva and Wesley Fofana starting alongside him in the solid back three.
Ben Chilwell served his suspension in the Champions League and is free to return to the side at left wing-back, which should see Marc Cucurella drop out, while Reece James’ latest injury means that Ruben Loftus-Cheek could deputise on the right-hand side.
N’Golo Kante was guilty of missing a number of chances in the 2-0 defeat to Madrid, so he is moved back into a more natural central midfield position alongside Enzo Fernandez, with Mateo Kovacic dropping to the bench.
That allows Lampard to make significant changes to his front three, as Raheem Sterling get the nod to start on the left wing ahead of Conor Gallagher, in the hope that the former Manchester City man can finally start to justify his summer price tag.
Meanwhile, Noni Madueke is handed a rare start on the right, as his former coach Saul Isaksson-Hurst dubbed him a “mentality monster,” which is exactly what is required if Chelsea are to return to winning ways tonight.
Finally, Joao Felix replaces the injured Kai Havertz up front, with the Portuguese striker running out of time to impress if he wants to secure a permanent move to Stamford Bridge this summer.
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