Chelsea defender Malo Gusto is currently touch-and-go for Sunday’s Premier League London derby with top-four rivals Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.
The Frenchman has sat out the Blues’ last two wins over Leicester City and Copenhagen with a knock to the ankle, and his status for the trip to North London remains up in the air.
However, Enzo Maresca is not exactly short of options to step in for Gusto at right-back, where Reece James, Wesley Fofana, Trevoh Chalobah and Josh Acheampong can all function.
As Fofana was not involved in the 1-0 Conference League victory over Copenhagen in midweek, he seems a safe bet to come back into the fold, albeit most likely as a centre-back as Maresca rests Tosin Adarabioyo.
As a result, James could be summoned to fill the right-back void in North London, even though Maresca has talked up the England international’s qualities as a midfielder in recent weeks.
Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez should pair up in the engine room at the Emirates, though, while Marc Cucurella, Levi Colwill and Robert Sanchez complete the visitors’ backline.
Further forward, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall‘s winner in midweek should not be enough to keep Cole Palmer at bay – even if he is an out-of-sorts Palmer right now – while Jadon Sancho, Pedro Neto and Christopher Nkunku‘s spots should also be safe due to a lack of other available options.
Chelsea possible starting lineup:
Sanchez; James, Fofana, Colwill, Cucurella; Caicedo, Fernandez; Sancho, Palmer, Nkunku; Neto
> Click here to see how Arsenal could line up for this game
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