Chelsea will have to face Manchester City this weekend without seven players on Sunday, with Benoit Badiashile the latest to join the injury list.
What is the Chelsea team news?
The Blues have only three games left this season to try and seal a spot in the top half of the Premier League table. Prior to the weekend's fixtures, the Blues were currently sat 11th and need as many points as they can from their remaining three fixtures if they want to break into the top ten. That is still possible but any higher is mathematically out of the equation for the side this season.
It means that Chelsea are set for their lowest league finish since the 1995/96 season. It's been a torrid campaign for the club, which resulted in both Thomas Tuchel and Graham Potter being relieved of their duties. Frank Lampard has since taken interim charge of the Stamford Bridge outfit until the end of the season, and it is largely expected that Mauricio Pochettino will then be unveiled as their next boss in the summer.
Their next fixture will see them come face-to-face with high-flying Manchester City, who can seal the league title with a victory over the Blues this weekend, provided Arsenal don't lose to Nottingham Forest on Saturday evening.
However, speaking ahead of the clash, via Absolute Chelsea, Lampard revealed that there are seven players who will miss out on the game. One such name, Kalidou Koulibaly, has made strides and returned to training, but the boss revealed he is still "not really ready" for a fixture such as this one. In addition, there is a fresh name sidelined, with Badiashile, who played last time out against Nottingham Forest, now added to the injury list.
Lampard said:
"Mason [Mount], Reece [James], Chilly [Ben Chilwell], N’Golo [Kante], [Marc] Cucurella not fit. Kouli [Kalidou Koulibaly] has been training this week, but not really ready for a game like this. He’s ahead of schedule to be fair. Benoit [Badiashile] has injured himself in training, so will miss the game."
Who are Chelsea playing in their last three fixtures?
The Blues will have to hope that their fixture against Pep Guardiola's side goes a lot better than it did last time out, with the club suffering a 4-0 defeat in the FA Cup at the Etihad. They also lost 1-0 the last time the two faced in the Premier League. Once they have dealt with City, they then have another tough fixture against Man United and then a final-day clash against Newcastle.
However, in the short term, Lampard will be without Badiashile, labelled as a "complete" defender by a former Monaco coach, so he may need to look towards the likes of Wesley Fofana or Cesar Azpilicueta, both of who were unused substitutes last weekend, or even revert to a back three.