Thomas Tuchel still appeared lost for answers when trying to explain Wednesday's collapse against Arsenal at Stamford Bridge. During the post-match media duties following the 4-2 loss, the German appeared to blame the quality of the pitch, something he repeated in Friday's press conference before Sunday afternoon's meeting with West Ham.
"I don't know, I am not a specialist on it. We are looking at the highest level in every department. I know everybody is trying hard," Tuchel began. "I said it because the first goal was a mistake from Andreas (Christensen), but the mistake was because of a funny bounce of the ball, and we had more of them in the game. It was a bit awkward to play and calculate the speed and bounce of the ball."
Blaming the quality of the turf feels like a classic diversion tactic for the harsh reality of Chelsea's recent home form, which has seen the Blues concede 11 goals in three games against Brentford, Real Madrid and Arsenal. What is quite bizarre is that in the three games sandwiched between those disasters, Chelsea has scored the exact same amount away from home.
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Tuchel used the word 'awkward' a second time later in the press conference when trying to explain the inconsistency of his team since the last international break.
"It is almost impossible to concede three goals in a match like this given the quality and determination we usually have. At the moment, it is a bit fragile in home games. There is another home game coming, and we have the chance to do better," he added.
That fragility is highly concerning ahead of Sunday's meeting with a West Ham side chasing European glory, and given the fear of Chelsea suddenly having to look over their shoulder in the league, Tuchel has two selection questions to answer after fans worst fears were realised with the latest injury news.
Team News
Tuchel confirmed both Mateo Kovacic and Antonio Rudiger are both out of Sunday's game after their injuries against Crystal Palace at Wembley. Ben Chilwell posted a picture training at Cobham but he will not play again this season. Callum Hudson-Odoi's elongated absence goes on.
Tuchel's Approach
After the complete mess of Wednesday, it is hard to feel overly confident about the structure of this team, particularly at home.
With no Rudiger and Kovacic, two of Chelsea's best performers this season, Tuchel is really struggling for obvious solutions to resolve this selection headache. I'd sway towards a 3-4-1-2, however, as an issue on Wednesday and against West Ham in December was being overrun in midfield.
Tuchel may look to add a third central midfielder into the mix, with Jorginho, N'Golo Kante and Ruben Loftus-Cheek the most realistic choices here. Nullifying the threat of Jarrod Bowen off the right feels particular key, with Arsenal finding tons of joy down that side with Malang Sarr and Marcos Alonso having nights to forget.
The Oppo
David Moyes continues to work wonders with West Ham - who can smell European glory and their first trophy since 1980 - in the Europa League. All eyes will be on that Eintracht Frankfurt semi-final in midweek but that should not ease Chelsea's fears.
Moyes does have some injury worries in defence, with both Issa Diop and Kurt Zouma ruled out, which could force Chelsea target Declan Rice to move into central defence for this game if needs be.
The Hammers have had a rare full week's preparation for this game, so I would expect a usual 4-2-3-1 with three of Bowen, Manuel Lanzini, Nikola Vlasic or Pablo Fornals sitting behind the tireless Antonio up front.
West Ham's two big threats are set pieces and their speed on transition. Chelsea will likely hold much of the possession and Moyes will aim to look for a direct ball for Antonio to hold up, bringing West Ham's direct wide players into the game.
The line-up
Both the left of defence and in central midfield feel very difficult to predict with much confidence given the form of players available and those missing.
I would personally like to see Reece James in his right wingback role again. It is really costing Chelsea creatively and feels like placing a handbrake on not only James but the rest of the team's expression. In central defence, both Thiago Silva and Trevoh Chalobah should be reinstalled.
Whilst all three of Kante, Jorginho and Loftus-Cheek have shown frailties over the past three defeats, Jorginho and Kante might be Tuchel's double-six to go back to basics, with Loftus-Cheek fulfilling a hybrid wingback role from the left (call me crazy) that he performed well in against Southampton and Real Madrid.
Romelu Lukaku made little impact on his return against Arsenal, so I'd expect the in-form trio of Timo Werner, Mason Mount and Kai Haverz to start.
Predicted Chelsea Lineup: (3-4-1-2) Mendy, Azpilicueta, Silva, Chalobah, James, Kante, Jorginho, Loftus-Cheek, Mount, Werner, Havertz
