Antonio Conte has conceded Chelsea’s chances of qualifying for the Champions League may hinge on beating Tottenham on Sunday.
Chelsea, who are fifth, five points adrift of Spurs with eight games to play, hope to extend the visitors’ wretched record at Stamford Bridge. Tottenham have not won there for 28 years.
Conte is unsure whether Thibaut Courtois and Andreas Christensen, who withdrew from international duty with Belgium and Denmark respectively, will be available after suffering hamstring and groin problems.
“This is an important game for us,” the Chelsea manager said. “Our target for this final [stretch] of the season is to take a place in the Champions League and reach the final of the FA Cup. If we win on Sunday we’ll go very close to Tottenham. Otherwise it will be difficult to take a place in the Champions League.
“We are talking about a great team, a really good manager and a team with many talented players. I have great respect for Tottenham. In the last few years they grew a lot. Now they’re one of the best teams in England. But nothing is impossible.”
Courtois and Christensen will be assessed, with Willy Caballero and Gary Cahill ready to play. David Luiz is ruled out with a knee problem and Ross Barkley, recovered from his latest hamstring problem, will play for the under-23s on Saturday.
“We have two big problems – Courtois and Christensen – and we have to check if they are in the right physical condition to have good games,” Conte added. “Otherwise I have to make a different decision. One solution would be Cahill in the middle. We are talking about a great player and someone I trust, and it wouldn’t be the first time Cahill would play in this role.
“With Barkley, we are talking about a player that is coming back from a bad injury, seven months without playing. We want to have patience with him and then to be sure before we bring him back to the first team.”
