Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho is likely to rest many of his first-team regulars for their FA Cup third-round clash at home to Watford on Sunday.
The Portuguese tactician has been reluctant to stray too far from the winning formula which had seen the Blues storm clear at the top of the Premier League.
However, Chelsea have dropped points in four of their last seven league games, and an uncharacteristic 5-3 defeat to whipping boys Tottenham Hotspur on New Year's Day meant that they now only lead Manchester City on alphabetical order.
Perhaps the reason for this slight dip in form is fatigue and a lack of freshness resulting from Mourinho's insistence on not rotating many of his star names.
The Special One may see the visit of their London rivals as a good opportunity to rest the likes of Eden Hazard, Cesc Fabregas and Nemanja Matic, but Watford are in the type of form where they could catch a weakened Chelsea off guard.
The Hornets have found some consistency under Slavisa Jokanovic - their third manager of the season and a former Serbian midfielder who spent two forgettable years at Stamford Bridge in the early 2000s.
Four wins from five games over the festive period have taken the Italian-owned club fifth in the Championship table, and a 4-2 win away at Cardiff City last time out was a statement of their promotion intent.
Strikers Matej Vydra and Troy Deeney were both left on the bench for the trip to Wales, but with Jokanovic unlikely to go with two up top against the Blues, it may only be the latter who is restored in attack.
Elsewhere there could be recalls for Daniel Tozser, Ikechi Anya and Sebastien Bassong. Loanee Adlene Guedioura has been tipped for a return to Alan Pardew's Crystal Palace, but should still be available.
Petr Cech, Loic Remy, Ramires, Andre Schurrle and Mohamed Salah are all queuing up for rare starts for the hosts, who have dominated the FA Cup in recent years with four triumphs in eight seasons.
There will also be at least two changes to a Harry Kane-tortured defence which became just the second of Mourinho's to concede five in a game, with Filipe Luis and Kurt Zouma likely to replace Gary Cahill and one other.
Chelsea have not lost to Watford in any competition this century and only once in FA Cup history.
Chelsea:
Form in FA Cup: DWLWWL
Form in all competitions: WWWWDL
Possible starting lineup: Cech; Azpilicueta, Zouma, Ivanovic, Luis; Mikel, Ramires; Schurrle, Oscar, Salah; Remy
Watford:
Form in FA Cup: WLLDWL
Form in all competitions: LWWWLW
Possible starting lineup: Gomes; Angella, Cathcart, Bassong, Pudil; Anya, Guedioura, Munari, Tozser; Abdi, Deeney
Sports Mole says: 1-0
Joe Fish
