Chelsea welcome Tottenham Hotspur to Stamford Bridge on Wednesday evening in a huge Premier League match for both sides.
The Blues desperately need a win after tasting defeat in both domestic cups over the past week and losing ground in the top-four race.
Spurs, whose participation in the FA Cup and EFL Cup ended in the space of a few days last month, fell to a 2-1 reverse at Burnley on Saturday to all but end their slim title hopes.
Both teams could do with a victory in West London in midweek, then, and ahead of the match Sports Mole has put together a combined XI using only the players expected to be available for selection.
Out: Marco van Ginkel (knee), Dele Alli (hamstring), Vincent Janssen (knee)
Hugo Lloris's form has dipped since lifting the World Cup with France last summer but, while he is prone to the odd howler, the Spurs keeper still offers more of a presence between the sticks than opposite number Kepa Arrizabalaga, who has shipped 10 goals in his last three league outings and made the headlines for the wrong reasons in the EFL Cup final.
Right-back is a bit of a troublesome position for both sides. Kieran Trippier is another who has underwhelmed on the back of a superb showing at the World Cup and Cesar Azpilicueta, usually Chelsea's most reliable performer, has been caught out far too often in recent weeks. The latter gets the nod here almost by default. On the opposite flank, Ben Davies has had to battle with Danny Rose for regular starts and, thanks to his better fitness record and therefore more regular playing time, he is selected over his clubmate and Chelsea's hit-and-miss Marcos Alonso in this side.
Centre-back is where Tottenham have been particularly strong in recent years, even more so since Davinson Sanchez arrived in August 2017. Sanchez has justified his club-record fee in his first two seasons at the club and Toby Alderweireld also rarely puts a foot wrong. Had this been a three-man defence, Toby Alderweireld would have completed the all-Spurs backline ahead of Chelsea's inconsistent pairing of David Luiz and Antonio Rudiger.
The Frenchman may not get picked in his favoured position by Maurizio Sarri, but there is no doubt that N'Golo Kante has been the best defensive midfielder on the planet over the past few years. Kante's inclusion in the centre of a three-man midfield allows Christian Eriksen to create chances from deep and, to the right of him, Moussa Sissoko - a regular for the Lilywhites in recent months - can shuttle forward to link midfield with an all-star attack.
It is in the forward department that this team truly comes to life. Eden Hazard is the fifth-highest scoring player in the Premier League this season and has more assists than anyone, while Harry Kane is on course for another 20-goal-plus season after marking his return from injury with a goal against Burnley. Willian and Pedro are options on the right of the front three, but Son Heung-min is enjoying the best season of his career and simply cannot be left out.
Daniel Lewis
