Maurizio Sarri has a clean bill of health to boast of as Chelsea prepare to welcome Everton to Stamford Bridge on Sunday evening.
Chelsea will be looking to extend their fine unbeaten run across all competitions when Everton pay them a visit at Stamford Bridge on Sunday. The Toffees have usually been the whipping boys for the Blues at the Bridge, which should fill Maurizio Sarri with confidence to break the Premier League record of the longest unbeaten start in the competition by a manager.
His prospects will be helped by the fact that Chelsea have a clean bill of health, with Cesc Fabregas the only player who is a slight doubt due to the illness that forced him to miss the Europa League tie against BATE Borisov. Otherwise, Sarri has no worries on the injury front, with Ethan Ampadu the final man off the treatment table.
The Chelsea boss chose to rest his entire back four in the midweek fixture. The quartet of Cesar Azpilicueta, Antonio Rudiger, David Luiz and Marcos Alonso should thus, return to the starting lineup against Everton, with Azpilicueta donning the captain’s armband.
First-choice goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga did feature in goal on Thursday, but should be the Chelsea custodian once again at the Bridge. In midfield, N’Golo Kante remained on the bench during the Europa League tie and should thus, return to the Chelsea starting lineup after getting some well earned rest.
The rest of the midfield unit should feature Jorginho and Ross Barkley, even though the duo started in the European fixture. Mateo Kovacic will thus, have to bide his time, largely due to Barkley’s resurgence, which was one of the topics that Sarri was quizzed on during his pre-match press conference ahead of the Englishman’s first game against his boyhood club, Everton.
“I like him very much because he is a complete player. He has physical qualities because he is fast, has resistance, and technically he is very good. He has a good kick with the left and the right foot. He is improving in moving the ball, quicker mentally, and he is improving tactically, so I think he is on the way to becoming a very important midfielder.”
Up ahead in attack, Eden Hazard will have locked down a place in the starting lineup to face Everton after proving his fitness in an hour-long display in the midweek. The other spot out wide should be a toss-up between Pedro and Willian.
The Brazilian only came off the bench for a cameo on Thursday and is therefore, likely to be deployed on the right flank by Sarri. Meanwhile, there is a healthy competition for the final place in the Chelsea starting lineup, with both Alvaro Morata and Olivier Giroud showing signs of returning to form.
Morata though, looks likely to be preferred to Giroud, having found the back of the net four times in his last four outings, leaving Giroud and Pedro as the possible impact substitutes if the need presents itself.
