Chelsea will be looking to end their run of two goalless draws on the bounce on Saturday afternoon as they travel to West Ham United in the Premier League.
A new-look Blues side took on Fulham on Friday evening at Stamford Bridge but were unable to break their west London rivals down in what turned out to be a goalless stalemate. The likes of Enzo Fernandez and Noni Madueke made their debuts for Chelsea on the night but despite both impressing, Graham Potter could not guide his side to three points at the Bridge.
It was, as mentioned, a new-look team for Chelsea but they were still lacking the same issue in front of goal. After the game, Potter agreed with that and admitted him and his players need to do more in an attacking sense.
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"A lot of positivity and good feeling," the Chelsea head coach explained to reporters after the draw. "Certainly from the start of the game, I thought the crowd helped with that as well but within the team there was a good feeling.
"I agree. I think we didn't do enough in terms of our attacking play to create more which is something we can do."
Potter, however, will be boosted this weekend with one of Chelsea's most creative players in Joao Felix expected to return to the squad for the trip to West Ham. Felix, who joined on a six-month loan deal from Atletico Madrid in January, is due to return from a three-match suspension.
The 23-year-old was shown a straight red card last month after a challenge on Fulham's Kenny Tete. Felix impressed on his Chelsea debut up until the horror tackle and with his return now just days away, plenty of Blues supporters are ecstatic about the prospect of him lining up for the side once again.
With that being said, football.london – as seen below – has put together an XI that Potter could field on Saturday. It's one that does indeed feature the returning Felix and puts him playing just behind Kai Havertz in a 4-2-3-1 setup.
On the aforementioned evening at Craven Cottage, Felix and Havertz combined brilliantly and looked a real threat in west London. The two were virtually playing alongside each other on that night, but if Felix was a tad deeper than Havertz this time around, it theoretically would work just as well.
Chelsea's two new wingers in Mykhailo Mudryk and Madueke could also make their first start together. Mudryk was unable to impress against Fulham last week but it's understandable given his lack of football in recent months.
The Ukrainian has undoubted talent and his threat on the counter-attack versus West Ham could cause the Hammers some real issues and make David Moyes think twice about demanding his full-backs to attack. Likewise with Madueke, who did show glimpses of why Chelsea signed him for £35million when making his debut last week.
Fernandez made his debut on Friday as well and the Argentina international really caught the eye at Stamford Bridge, so he is expected to retain his place in the XI. Chelsea are fairly short of midfield options at the moment, so Conor Gallagher could keep his place alongside Fernandez.
There could also be a place in the starting XI for Ben Chilwell, who returned to action against Fulham after months on the sidelines through injury. The England left-back could deputise for Marc Cucurella on the left-hand side of defence.
Reece James is expected to keep his place in the right-back position, while Thiago Silva and Benoit Badiashile continue to build a solid defensive partnership. Kepa Arrizabalaga will start in goal yet again, looking for his fourth clean sheet in a row.
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