Mauricio Pochettino will give Reece James his first start since August against Blackburn tomorrow in a bid to play his "best team."
The club captain will make his welcome return in the Carabao Cup match, as the Blues look to bounce back from a disappointing defeat at home to Brentford on Saturday.
Enzo Fernandez is set to return but Mykhailo Mudryk is still out, with several Chelsea stars could be rested out of necessity.
Speaking about his team selection, Pochettino discussed James' return as the Blues look to see off Championship side Blackburn to reach the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup.
"I can confirm he is going to start," the Chelsea boss said of James.
"The captain is ready. It’s good for the team, it’s good for him to start from the beginning. We can see after, checking always how he is performing."
Pochettino explained Mudryk may return to face Tottenham on Monday, but Christopher Nkunku remains out until after the international break.
The Carabao Cup is Chelsea's first chance of silverware this season and, amid a poor run of league form, could soon become the most likely route to qualify for Europe.
Pochettino added: "I told you before, at the start of the season, a competition like the Carabao Cup or FA Cup is really important for us.
"Tomorrow, we will try to play with our best team. Some players we will need to rest because after Saturday's game we can’t take risks. But in general, we will try to play our best team.
"All the players need to be ready to play tomorrow, and then we will decide. We are going to take it very seriously because we want to go far. This is a competition we can go through in.
"It’s important for us to go forward in this competition, to build momentum, and after go to Tottenham and receive Manchester City with the trust and the confidence we can beat them also."
Ben Chilwell has flown to Los Angeles to change scenery amid his prolonged rehabilitation from a hamstring problem.
"The plan was to change the scenario for him," Pochettino said. "That happens in different clubs. When it’s a long period of recovery, sometimes we change the scenarios for them.
"Twelve hours here every day, it’s a fantastic training ground, but sometimes the player needs to change the atmosphere and the scenario to keep their recovery in a good way. It’s still difficult to know when he will be back."
