Chelsea will seek to get back to winning ways when they take on the Premier League’s bottom side Southampton on Tuesday night.
A run of three defeats on the spin has seen the Blues dumped out of the FA Cup and slip down to seventh with Enzo Maresca’s side wobbling after Saturday’s defeat to Aston Villa.
The combination of Cole Palmer’s drop in form and a growing injury list has been a major headache but the visit of a side who have shipped 42 goals in 26 games offers them the chance to get back on track.
Nicolas Jackson remains unavailable with the striker not expected to return until after the March international break due to a hamstring injury.
Pedro Neto provided a decent showing in an unfamiliar striker role at Villa Park and with little other alternative with Maresca still not convinced by Christopher Nkunku up front, may keep his place midweek.
Romeo Lavia, Wesley Fofana, Benoit Badiashile and Marc Guiu are also likely to remain unavailable until April with Noni Madueke also joining them in the treatment room.
Madueke also has a hamstring problem picked up in the 3-0 defeat to Brighton.
Trevoh Chalobah meanwhile was taken off after just eight minutes against Villa on Saturday night, replaced by Tosin Adarabioyo.
The 25-year-old, back in the first-team picture after being recalled from Crystal Palace, was being assessed on Sunday with Maresca initially confident he had avoided serious injury.
Predicted Chelsea team to face Southampton
Jorgensen, Gusto, Adarabioyo, Colwill, Cucurella, Caicedo, Fernandez, Sancho, Palmer, Nkunku, Neto
How Chelsea could line up this week…
Where to watch the Premier League match Chelsea vs Southampton? Kick-off time and TV channel
Chelsea vs Southampton kicks off at 8pm on Tuesday 25 February.
The match will be available to watch live on TNT Sports 1 and TNT Sports Ultimate with a live stream available through the Discovery+ app.