Chelsea line-ups for Tottenham as Palmer agreement reached and Garnacho decision made

Calum McFarlane faces some tough decisions for Chelsea’s penultimate Premier League fixture of the season against Tottenham, just 72 hours after the FA Cup final defeat to Manchester City

It has been just 48 hours since Chelsea were beaten in the FA Cup final by Manchester City, but it almost feels a lifetime ago.

So much has happened since. Just over an hour after the final whistle was blown at Wembley Stadium, we brought you the news that an agreement had been reached between the Blues and Xabi Alonso over a four-year contract at Stamford Bridge. Since then, Chelsea have confirmed Alonso will take over on July 1.

Now, though, the focus is on finishing the season in the best possible way. Interim head coach Calum McFarlane – as always was the plan – will take the final two matches of the season. The Blues still have an outside shot of finishing in the European places.

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Tottenham are the visitors to Stamford Bridge on Tuesday evening as Chelsea’s London rivals look to secure their Premier League status next season. With all of this being said, our Chelsea writers Bobby Vincent and Jake Stokes discuss and debate the Blues line-up they would choose for this fiercely-contested rivalry.

Bobby Vincent

McFarlane has gone with the 3-4-2-1 formation in the last two matches, perhaps with Alonso, who used a similar system during his successful period with Bayer Leverkusen, in mind. However, at home against Spurs, Chelsea need to try and take the game to Roberto De Zerbi’s men.

He might choose to revert to a more orthodox four-back formation. Robert Sanchez as the goalkeeper, of course, with Malo Gusto at right-back. Reece James might need a rest given he returned from a hamstring injury in the FA Cup final at the weekend.

If the Blues go with four defenders, Trevoh Chalobah should return alongside Jorrel Hato. Given Levi Colwill has completed two full matches in the space of a week, the England international will surely start this one on the substitutes’ bench.

Andrey Santos should come into the midfield in place of James. Romeo Lavia picked up a “small knock” in the build-up to the FA Cup final, so the Belgian midfielder is a doubt for this one. In front of the midfield, Cole Palmer is set to start on the right-hand side, with Enzo Fernandez in the No.10 role and perhaps Pedro Neto returning to the team on the left wing.

Alejandro Garnacho will be keen to get some minutes as he looks to impress Alonso, who will be watching on from somewhere. Garnacho being an out-and-out winger does not help his case when Alonso arrives, if the Spaniard opts with a wing-back formation.

Bobby’s XI: Sanchez; Gusto, Chalobah, Hato, Cucurella; Caicedo, Santos; Palmer, Fernandez, Neto; joao pedro

Jake Stokes

Although Chelsea won’t have long to recharge their batteries following the defeat to Manchester City in the FA Cup final on Saturday afternoon, I don’t expect McFarlane to make many changes to the starting line-up. Somehow, the Blues can still qualify for the Champions League, so they can’t afford to leave Stamford Bridge on Tuesday night with anything less than three points.It should go without saying that Sanchez keeps his place between the sticks. As for the backline, Chalobah and Tosin Adarabioyo should come in for Wesley Fofana and Colwill, respectively. The former hasn’t done enough to keep his place in the side, while the latter must be rested, having only recently returned to action after a lengthy spell on the sidelines.In the middle of the park, Santos should replace James. Like Colwill, the fellow Cobham graduate needs to be carefully managed. As much as I’d love to see them both start against Tottenham, they need to be wrapped in cotton wool, especially if they end up going to the World Cup this summer.Up top should remain Palmer and Fernandez, with Joao Pedro leading the frontline. The first of the three could very easily find himself on the bench, but you can’t write him off… nor do I think McFarlane would dare drop him!Jake’s XI: Sanchez; Gusto, Chalobah, Tosin, Hato, Cucurella; Caicedo, Santos; Palmer, Fernandez; joao pedro