Chelsea faced their biggest test of the season on Friday and unfortunately came out on the losing end, as Liverpool recorded their second consecutive victory at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea started terribly and while the second-half was an improvement, it was not good enough to dig the Blues out of a 2-0 hole. It was not the best way to set up for this upcoming week, which features a midweek trip to defending champions Leicester City and then a weekend excursion to Arsenal's neck of the woods.
That's an ominous-sounding schedule, though neither Chelsea nor Leicester are expected to field a first-choice lineup in this League EFL Cup third round match-up. The Foxes are now fully involved in the Champions League and face a tough test away at Old Trafford on the weekend, so as much as the Tinkerman didn't have to tinker at all with his lineups last season, he now has to account for the more congested fixture list.
Chelsea rotated quite heavily for the second round win over Bristol Rovers. Given the back-to-back disappointing results in the league, much the same is expected on Tuesday. But this is about what you would prefer and not what you expect from Conte.
John Terry is the only player who's unavailable through injury, the strained ankle ligaments are expected to keep him out until at least the weekend.
Choose wisely.