Chelsea centre-back Thiago Silva has hinted that he is set to appear in their clash with West Ham on Sunday afternoon as the Blues look to get their home form back on track. Defeat to Arsenal in midweek marked their third loss at Stamford Bridge since the most recent international break.
An Eddie Nketiah brace, an Emile Smith Rowe strike and a Bukayo Saka penalty left goals from Timo Werner and Cesar Azpilicueta redundant in the 4-2 defeat. With a place in the Premier League top-four all but secured, the focus for Thomas Tuchel will now be on building momentum ahead of their FA Cup final with Liverpool in May as they look to avenge last season's defeat to Leicester City.
But West Ham are unlikely to roll over for their London rivals. Back in December, a late Arthur Masuaku stunner secured the Hammers a 3-2 victory at the London Stadium and dented Chelsea's title hopes. So ahead of this clash, Tuchel has unsurprisingly praised the job David Moyes is doing across the capital.
"I think he (Moyes) is doing an incredible job in a very popular club and very emotional club, a team together," he told his pre-match press conference earlier this week. "A group with a coach that is enjoyable to watch. We follow the Europa League games, and I follow a lot of their games because it is nice to watch with a full investment physically.
"The players are absolutely tired after their matches. It is very emotional, a very physical squad. Very hard to break down, to create chances. Very dangerous on counter-attacks and set pieces. There is a lot to take care of. A lot of physicality and commitment to stand up against them. Full credit to them, the game will be tough."
Who starts for Chelsea on Sunday will remain a hot-button issue. Tuchel's defence has long been the most impressive aspect of his Chelsea side but it has let him down in recent weeks with recent reports of Antonio Rudiger's imminent departure unlikely to have helped.
On Sunday morning, however, Silva shared a matchday graphic to his Instagram story, alongside a countdown to kick-off, perhaps hinting that he will take his place in the starting line-up.
The veteran was dropped in midweek but came off the bench at half-time with the scores at 2-2 to replace Andreas Christensen. Given their shakiness at the back of late, it would certainly not be a surprise to see the club's most established defender in the starting XI.
