Reece James (No. 24) Right wingback, England
It is quite clear that Ben Chilwell’s absence has hurt Reece James. The two wingbacks used to bombard forward and create pressure from both sides. The Englishman was often playing centrally against Leeds United and was doing well in the first half. Leeds started pressing with more intent in the second half and James was caught out of position more than once. James should start this game and expect him to be seen taking up a central position frequently.
Jorginho (No. 5) Central midfielder, Italy
Jorginho has been playing with an injury and he has been managing the pain as Chelsea does not have any other midfielders available. Ross Barkley did not do well in the position and that experiment did not work at all. While Jorginho had made a couple of expensive mistakes in recent times, his presence on the field will be a huge boost as the Blues are struggling to control matches. Expect Jorginho to start and put in another commanding performance against Everton.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek (No. 12) Central midfielder, England
Ruben Loftus-Cheek is the only fit midfielder, along with Jorginho who is carrying a hip/back injury. What is even more worrying is that he also suffered a small issue during the warm-up before the game against Zenit in the Champions League. Loftus-Cheek has done well in the pivot and he has the ability to dribble out of tight situations. Moreover, he manages to beat the press more often that not with his control on the ball. There are a lot of areas in which Loftus-Cheek can improve as he averages only 0.4 accurate long balls and 0.4 accurate chipped passes, whereas someone like Jorginho averages 2.2 accurate long balls and 2.6 accurate chipped passes per match. Loftus-Cheek will start against Everton and expect him to show up with an assist.
Marcos Alonso (No. 3) Left wingback, Spain
There is a lot of debate about Marcos Alonso and the left wingback position. In Chilwell’s absence, Alonso has been under the spotlight and he has put in some mixed performances. There have been moments where forwards have exposed Alonso’s obvious weaknesses but that doesn’t mean that Alonso shouldn’t be starting in his favoured position. Despite the poor challenge that led to the penalty against Leeds, the Spaniard did well going forward and ended up with an assist on Mason Mount’s opener.