Sancho dropped, Palmer decision, key trio return - Predicted Chelsea XI for Tottenham clash
Chelsea welcome Tottenham to Stamford Bridge this evening in a seismic match in the Premier League and Enzo Maresca faces some difficult decisions regarding his line-up
Enzo Maresca will welcome back three crucial players for Chelsea's match with Tottenham at Stamford Bridge this evening.
Cole Palmer, Noni Madueke and Nicolas Jackson are in contention to be named in the squad for the Blues, who are looking to take a huge step towards finishing in a Champions League place this season. Palmer missed the match before the international break with Arsenal with a slight muscular injury and then withdrew from both England games the following week.
However, Palmer returned to full training at Cobham last week and is now set to take on Spurs later tonight. Likewise, Madueke and Jackson both returned to training recently after facing longer spells on the sidelines. Jackson has not played in almost two months, while Madueke sustained a similar injury just a few days after his Chelsea teammate.
The Blues do not have such luck with Romeo Lavia, though, who has suffered another setback. It is unclear whether he will make this evening's squad with the Belgian midfielder still needing to be assessed before Maresca makes the definitive decision.
Speaking of decisions, the Chelsea head coach faces plenty of them this evening. Who will start for the Blues as the countdown until the end of the season really starts? Bobby Vincent has done his best at reading the Italian's mind with his predicted line-up below...
GK: Robert Sanchez
Maresca made it perfectly clear before the international break that Sanchez is back to being his No.1 goalkeeper. Unless something drastic happens with the Spaniard, expect him to be the man between the posts for the remainder of the Premier League run-in.
(Image: Visionhaus)1 of 11RB: Reece James
Maresca sees James as more of a midfielder but due to the personnel available for this evening's game, we could see the captain at right-back. He of course shone for Thomas Tuchel's England over the international break and will be hoping to replicate that level for the Blues.
(Image: Patrik Lundin)2 of 11CB: Wesley Fofana
Fofana has been used as the right-back in recent games for Chelsea but he could return to a more conventional position this evening. The Frenchman will be hoping to build on the solid partnership he and Levi Colwill created before the former suffered an injury at the start of December.
(Image: Visionhaus)3 of 11CB: Levi Colwill
![Levi Colwill]()
As mentioned, Colwill is expected to start alongside Fofana for the visit of Spurs. Colwill has not been at his brilliant best in recent games for Chelsea but will be hoping to produce a similar kind of form to what we witnessed at the beginning of the campaign.
(Image: Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC)4 of 11LB: Marc Cucurella
![Marc Cucurella]()
One of Chelsea's most consistent performers throughout the season. Both going forward and running back, Cucurella has been outstanding. He remains one of the first names on the team sheet for the Blues.
(Image: Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC)5 of 11
