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Chelsea look to make it three wins in a row on Monday night as West Ham United roll into town. With the league schedule all over the place — a game on Friday and Monday, but some teams on a bye due to FA Cup action — Chelsea would end the weekend back in the top four with a win, albeit with all three of Arsenal, Spurs, and Manchester United having a game in hand.
But, we do control our own destiny, so there’s no need to worry about what others are doing (yet). If Chelsea win out in the league, we’re almost guaranteed to finish top four. One match at a time, as the old cliche goes.
It’s unclear what Sarri’s preferred lineup is these days as he claims to be rotating based mostly on fitness. Chelsea do have another game just 72 hours after this one, away in Prague in the Europa League. That doesn’t sound too tough, but it is the quarterfinals. The head coach did mention that his selection will be made while taking into account Thursday’s game as well.
“We have played 51 matches, and in the last part of the season I want 20 players completely involved in our targets. [...] I have to decide who is going to play against West Ham and who is going to play against Slavia.”
-Maurizio Sarri; source: Chelsea FC
Concerns continue about Loftus-Cheek’s fitness levels (back, hamstrings, cramps, you name it), but those probably won’t keep him from bench duty, even if they rule out consecutive starts. Pedro is also facing some sort of late fitness test, but the only player to possibly not be available is Marcos Alonso, who picked up a hamstring injury last weekend and has been out since.