Brighton could be without up to five players as they welcome back Graham Potter to the AMEX Community Stadium on Saturday.
Roberto De Zerbi hasn't had the desired impact since taking over from Potter last month and is without a win in his first five matches, drawing two and losing three. That is in contrast to Potter who couldn't have asked for a better start to life at Stamford Bridge.
The Blues are unbeaten in his first nine matches and have won six, keeping five clean sheets. Having taken over with early Premier League struggles and facing trouble in the Champions League, Potter has taken Chelsea closer to the top four and already ensured top spot in the European group, gaining a knockout spot with one match to spare.
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Potter now returns back to his old club knowing that a victory in the league is of heightened importance after back-to-back draws somewhat slowed the progress of his side last week. Potter was unbeaten in his last seven matches at home for Brighton and will be hoping to keep his own personal record up.
That task could be impacted by forced changes for De Zerbi. He could be without up to five first team players for the match, with injuries creating a hole in the team. Speaking in his pre-Chelsea press conference, the Brighton boss provided an update on a number of players facing injury concerns.
On Friday afternoon, the Italian said: "Veltman has had some problems and Lallana is good. But tomorrow I will decide what I will do. Mitoma feels good. He trained with us yesterday and today. I have not decided on the first XI. I hope to play Lallana, Veltman, and Mitoma too."
He added that Lamptey has "some problems" and on Saturday he will decide if he can play or not. That leaves De Zerbi potentially one attacker, midfielder and defender light, whilst Jakub Moder remains out with a long-term setback.
Also unavailable is Levi Colwill. The 19-year-old centre-back has only played two league games so far on his season-long loan from Chelsea and is yet to start a match, only gaining 11 minutes of football. He was given a debut by Potter but hasn't had an impact on De Zerbi yet.
Colwill may have been in line for an appearance given the uncertainty over Veltman, but loan rules mean he must sit the game out. The loan hasn't gone to play so far with just two more league games remaining before the World Cup break and it has so far been an effective waste of a spell for the talented defender.
Chelsea will be expecting to come up against transfer targets Moises Caicedo and Leandro Trossard though. Todd Boehly has both of the Seagulls' stars on his radar and the pair were already being looked at before Potter's appointment. With Paul Winstanley also a possible addition to Potter's new club - in another Brighton raid as the head of recruitment is linked with a senior role at Cobham - this could be seen as an audition for the two.
When asked about a move to Stamford Bridge, Trossard recently said: "It’s very difficult to answer that. That will have to wait until [after the World Cup].
"I’m not on it at all right now. Brighton and the World Cup are the next goals. Afterwards, we’ll see where it ends."
With the tournament so close, and the Belgian's contract in an unknown situation, there could be a nervous wait for the winger as fans prepare to watch their star on the biggest stage.
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