Maurizio Sarri will hope to ease the latest bout of pressure to have fallen on his shoulders as Chelsea return to action against Brighton on Wednesday evening.
Blues fans once again chanted for the Italian to be ousted from the club during an unconvincing and controversial late 2-1 comeback win at relegation-threatened Cardiff that followed an abject defeat at Everton before the international break.
Chelsea are currently sixth and one point adrift of a Champions League qualification spot, though they can ill-afford another slip-up with Tottenham also in action against Crystal Palace at their new stadium.
Sarri is set to earn favour by handing Callum Hudson-Odoi a first Premier League start in one of the next two matches, while Eden Hazard and N'Golo Kante will hope to be back in the starting XI after both being named on the bench in south Wales.
Emerson should deputise for Marcos Alonso at left-back, with the Spaniard needing to rest for a few days after sustaining a minor hamstring issue.
Brighton are five points clear of the drop zone despite a 1-0 defeat to relegation rivals Southampton on Saturday, a result that led Chris Hughton - whose side face Manchester City in the FA Cup semi-finals at Wembley this weekend - to admit that it was going to be a "hard slog" until the end of the season.
Romanian striker Florin Andone looks set to return to the squad after training again in the aftermath of a thigh problem that forced his late withdrawal ahead of the derby win at Crystal Palace.
However, Pascal Gross remains sidelined with a hamstring injury.
Predicted line-ups
Chelsea XI: Kepa, Azpilicueta, Rudiger, Luiz, Emerson, Kante, Jorginho, Barkley, Hazard, Hudson-Odoi, Giroud
Provisional squad: Kepa, Caballero, Azpilicueta, Zappacosta, Palmieri, Rudiger, Luiz, Christensen, Kante, Loftus-Cheek, Jorginho, Barkley, Kovacic, Willian, Pedro, Hudson-Odoi, Hazard, Giroud, Higuain
Brighton XI: Ryan, Montoya, Duffy, Dunk, Bernardo, Bissouma, Stephens, Propper, Knockaert, Murray, Jahanbakhsh
Provisional squad: Ryan, Button, Montoya, Bruno, Dunk, Duffy, Burn, Balogun, Bong, Bernardo, Propper, Stephens, Kayal, Bissouma, Knockaert, March, Jahanbakhsh, Izquierdo, Locadia, Andone, Murray
