Thomas Tuchel faces a delicate situation in the Carabao Cup semi final first leg against Spurs on Wednesday - does he stick or twist with his Chelsea side?
The League Cup is usually a chance for managers to rest and rotate their key players but once you reach the semi final stage, things get a bit serious.
Added to that a London derby with a bitter rival and it's a game you daren’t lose.
After a brutal run of games in December, Tuchel will want to rest some players but might struggle to do so in midweek considering who is available to him owing to injuries.
We know there will be at least one change and that will be in goal with Kepa replacing Edouard Mendy who has departed to the Africa Cup of Nations to join up with Senegal.
It doesn’t seem likely that Tuchel will be drafting in many youngsters and will simply try and rotate around his first team squad with the likes of Ross Barkley, Hakim Ziyech and Malang Sarr pushing for a start.
Up front, Romelu Lukaku looks set for a recall having apologised after his somewhat ill-advised interview with Italian media last week. The head coach said on Tuesday that the striker had apologised and was back in the fold after his one-game absence.
Kai Havertz should continue as well having started against Liverpool last time out. Jorginho may well be given the night off as he continues to manage back pain despite coming on against Liverpool, meaning N’Golo Kante and Mateo Kovacic set to keep their places after starring against Liverpool and could be joined by Barkley in a midfield trio.
Tuchel has difficult calls to make at wing-back as well with Marcos Alonso the only fit an available wing-back the club has and until a new face arrives at the club, will be playing pretty much every game.
Tuchel could use an attacking player to fill either the wing-back roles as Christian Pulisic and Callum Hudson-Odoi have both played there this season so it's a call as to who he chooses and where he plays them.
Predicted Chelsea team vs Spurs: Kepa; Azpilicueta, Silva, Rudiger, Hudson-Odoi, Alonso; Kante, Kovacic; Mount, Havertz, Lukaku.
