Here are your Chelsea evening headlines for Friday, February 21.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek returns to Chelsea squad
Ruben Loftus-Cheek is nearing a return to first-team action for Chelsea.
The has been out since sustaining an Achilles injury towards the end of the last season, prior to the Europa League final victory over Arsenal - a game he seemed to have a great chance of starting.
But he can now see light at the end of the tunnel. Loftus-Cheek has been back in full training for a while now and will be in contention to get some minutes under his belt against Tottenham Hotspur.
Head coach Frank Lampard has revealed that the England international is in his plans as he plots a Premier League double over Jose Mourinho, but admitted the midfielder won't start at Stamford Bridge.
"Ruben is in the squad," Lampard confirmed in his pre-match press conference. "He is not fit to start but in the squad."
As expected, this update prompted a massive reaction from supporters on Twitter.
Lampard drops formation hint ahead of Tottenham clash
Chelsea will not seek to repeat the 3-4-3 formation that worked wonders at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the reverse fixture earlier in the season.
Lampard's decision to surprise Spurs with a wing-back system paid huge dividends in north London with Marcos Alonso and Cesar Azpilicueta pinning the hosts back in a comfortable 2-0 win.
As a result, the Lilywhites failed to register a shot on target. But Mourinho can rest easy knowing that another surprise is unlikely.
"It was pleasing because we worked a lot on it in the week," Lampard said. "The pleasing thing is how the players implemented it.
"I didn’t invent three at the back. The players have to go out and play it well. But it is one of the things you really enjoy about being a manager because this Premier League is the best in the league and there are styles of all sorts.
"You come up against Burnley, it’s a style. Come up against Brighton, it’s a style. Come up against Tottenham, it’s a certain style."
Tottenham team news
Mourinho has said that he's hopeful of naming club record signing Tanguy Ndombele in his Tottenham starting lineup at Stamford Bridge.
The Frenchman has struggled with injuries throughout his debut season, but he got 30 minutes under his belt in the Champions League defeat at the hands of RB Leipzig on Wednesday night and is in contention to face the Blues.
"At least he's not been injured in the last few weeks, he played a good 30 minutes in the last game and it was a game of high intensity," Mourinho said in his pre-match press conference. "And hopefully he'll only improve. I hope that the first time he plays a match in the starting line-up, he can play and be on the pitch for 60-90 minutes and not have any setback."
Frank Lampard could be sacked as early as next month
That's the view of reckons former Arsenal player Perry Groves as the ex-Gunner believes the Blues head coach will be on his marching ways if results against Tottenham, Bayern Munich and Liverpool don't go his way.
"Chelsea, I’ve seen them at home, they go into their shell at home, trust me,” Groves said on talkSPORT. "They haven’t got the personalities and the characters to get the game by the scruff of the neck.
"Chelsea fans said they would give him this season and I said if it didn't go well he would get a little bit longer than other managers, because he is Frank Lampard.
"But trust me if this doesn't go well, you watch, by March 8 he could be on his way.
"Chelsea fans have to get behind their team at Stamford Bridge."
