CHELSEA welcome Manchester City to Stamford Bridge on Thursday and Raheem Sterling could start against his former side for the first time.
The England star appeared off the bench in Chelsea’s Carabao Cup defeat at the Etihad in November.
Chelsea could make one change to the team that started against Nottingham Forest
Raheem Sterling could start against Manchester City for the first time since leaving the clubCredit: Getty
Edouard Mendy has returned to training but is not fit to playCredit: Getty
Graham Potter will hope Sterling acts as a source of inspiration with the Blues looking to get back to winning ways.
Chelsea have won just one of their last eight Premier League games – a 2-0 win over Bournemouth.
But City have also stuttered recently and were held to a 1-1 draw by Everton in their last outing.
Sterling scored against Nottingham Forest on New Year’s Day and could again be joined in attack by Kai Havertz and Christian Pulisic.
Potter could also recall Mateo Kovacic to the side in place of Denis Zakaria, while continuing to show faith in Mason Mount and Jorginho.
The Blues will hope to have a new midfielder in the building by the time their next Prem game against Fulham rolls around, though a deal for Enzo Fernandez has hit a few stumbling blocks.
At the back injuries limit Potter’s options, though goalkeeper Edouard Mendy has returned to training.
The Senegal No1 was unavailable due to a shoulder injury and is not expected to be in contention to make the matchday squad against the Citizens.
The limited options mean Chelsea could line-up with the same back four that featured at the City Ground.
That would see Thiago Silva and Kalidou Koulibaly featuring in the heart of defence with captain Cesar Azpilicueta at right-back and Marc Cucurella at left-back.