How Chelsea could line up against Brighton & Hove Albion

Given the array of injuries in defence for Chelsea at present, Graham Potter will be hopeful that Kalidou Koulibaly can recover from a slight knee issue for the trip to Brighton & Hove Albion which ruled him out of their Champions League tie with Red Bull Salzburg on Tuesday.

The recent arrival from Napoli returned to training soon after the win in Austria, but he remains doubtful for the Premier League clash on Saturday.

Mateo Kovacic was taken off midway through the second half in midweek, but Potter revealed post-match that it was precautionary after the Croatian midfielder felt a bit of tightness in his calf.

Central midfield options would become light if they were to lose Kovacic, considering that N'Golo Kante will be absent for a few months following hamstring surgery which ruled him out of the World Cup earlier this month.

Wesley Fofana and Reece James are another two players who will not feature for Chelsea until the New Year, but this has given opportunities to Cesar Azpilicueta and Trevoh Chalobah to come into the side.

Kepa Arrizabalaga has continued his revival in Chelsea colours, as Edouard Mendy remains on the bench while the Spanish goalkeeper flourishes in the starting lineup.

Kepa was agonisingly close to a sixth consecutive clean sheet last weekend, before Casemiro's last-gasp equaliser earned Manchester United a point at Stamford Bridge.

Potter gave Conor Gallagher a rare start on Tuesday in the number 10 role, but it would be no surprise to see Mason Mount return to the starting XI following his recent upturn in form domestically.

Chelsea possible starting lineup:

Kepa; Azpilicueta, Chalobah, Thiago Silva; Loftus-Cheek, Jorginho, Kovacic, Chilwell; Mount, Sterling, Aubameyang