Cole Palmer starts, Mykhailo Mudryk verdict – Chelsea lineup vs Tottenham predicted

Mauricio Pochettino will be determined to return to winning ways when Chelsea lock horns with Tottenham Hotspur. The Blues welcome the Lilywhites to Stamford Bridge on Thursday evening knowing a win will help them further climb the Premier League table.

Chelsea head into the clash following a 2-2 draw against Aston Villa, meanwhile, Spurs suffered a 3-2 defeat to Arsenal. While the west Londoners trail Manchester United, Newcastle and West Ham in the race for Europa League qualification, they have a couple of games in hand.

As for Tottenham, they're in a similar situation. Unai Emery's side have established a seven-point lead in fourth, but the north Londoners, who are fifth, have two games in hand.

While large sections of the Chelsea fanbase will be hoping to see Pochettino throw the kitchen sink at Tottenham, the Blues could have as many as 14 players sidelined due to injury. So, with that being said, football.london's writers have predicted how Chelsea could set up against Spurs.

Goalkeeper is obvious at this point. Petrovic has not been in the greatest form but it seems inevitable he will come good again, for me. The Chelsea defence essentially picks itself with all of the injury problems.

Gilchrist to come back in at right-back, with Chalobah and Badiashile in the middle and Cucurella on the left-hand side.
Gallagher and Caicedo both did really well away at Aston Villa last time out and I fully expect them two to continue in the middle.

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In front of them, there is a bit more debate. However, not that much because of the injury situation. Madueke on