Chelsea have no new injury concerns ahead of tonight's match against Brighton on the south coast.
Thomas Tuchel is still missing long-term absentees Reece James and Trevoh Chalobah, and Andreas Christensen is still isolated after testing positive for Covid last week.
Ben Chilwell will miss the rest of the season due to anterior cruciate ligament damage.
Tuchel is expected to use the same defense that he used in the 1-0 loss to Manchester City last weekend, with Malang Sarr, Thiago Silva, and Antonio Rudiger forming a back three.
Chelsea are 13 points behind Premier League leaders Manchester City heading into the game, and Tuchel has expressed his displeasure with the number of injuries and Covid cases that have hampered his side's title challenge.
"It's a bit boring for me because it's the same answer all the time," he said, "but key players are key players because they have key behavior and key things in clubs and dressing rooms." That's why you need them, and that's what gets you through a season, and City is clearly outperforming everyone. If you want to close the gap from where we came from, we were never afraid to say it and try it, and we still are, but you have to over-perform, and over-performance requires everyone." In recent weeks, we have had the impression that if you have a negative Covid test and you are a defender, Just play, you're being pushed to play, you're being rushed to play. "I'm not sure if we had the chance to play the back five in the same lineup in the last few weeks." I believe you will arrive in September or August (when it last happened). That's how it feels. Maybe it isn't, but it feels that way, and you're missing a little bit of routine, of automatic behavior." It's very normal, and for the circumstances we're in and the circumstances that aren't our fault, I'm pleased with where the team is. I am pleased with how we are behaving, and there is no reason to doubt the process, the team, or ourselves.
We are still strong and we will bounce back and never give in.”
Chelsea predicted XI: Kepa; Sarr, Silva, Rudiger; Azpilicueta, Kante, Jorginho, Alonso; Mount, Lukaku, Werner
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