Antonio Conte returns to Stamford Bridge for the first time since his sacking, and he brings a very decent Tottenham Hotspur side with him who will certainly pose a serious challenge to our quest to reach the League Cup final. We will do this again next week, at their place — though no away goals in this two-legged silliness.

Of course that’s assuming the pandemic doesn’t strike hard again. With rumors of two new COVID cases at Chelsea — UPDATE: confirmed as Thiago Silva and N’Golo Kanté — plus the other League Cup semifinal first leg between Liverpool and Arsenal already postponed two weeks, that remains a constant worry.

With an FA Cup third round match against non-league opposition coming up this weekend, Tuchel has opted for a strong but still rather makeshift lineup, and possibly a formation change, even!

Here we go!

Chelsea starting lineup (4-3-3):
Arrizabalaga | Alonso, Sarr, Rüdiger, Azpilicueta (c) | Saúl, Jorginho, Mount | Havertz, Lukaku, Ziyech

Substitutes from: Bettinelli, Hall, Barkley, Kovacic, Loftus-Cheek, Hudson-Odoi, Pulisic, Vale, Werner

Spurs starting lineup (3-4-3):
Lloris (c) | Davies, Sanchez, Tanganga | Doherty, Hojbjerg, Skipp, Tanganga | Son, Kane, Lucas

Substitutes from: Gollini, Austin, Rodon, Reguilon, Winks, Dele, Lo Celso, Ndombele, Bryan

Date / Time: Wednesday, January 5, 2022, 19.45 GMT; 2:45pm EST; 1:15am IST (next day)
Venue: Stamford Bridge, SW6
Referee: Craig Pawson (on pitch); Jared Gillett (VAR)

On TV: Sky Sports Main Event (UK); none (USA); MTV India (India); SuperSport MaXimo 1 (NGA); elsewhere
Streaming: Sky Go (UK); ESPN+ (USA); JioTV, Voot (India); DStv Now (NGA)

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Be excellent to each other, and party on, dudes!