Chelsea may have dropped an early team news hint ahead of their all-London affair with Tottenham on Sunday afternoon. The Blues are in desperate need of some form heading into the clash, sitting ten points away from the top four and drifting towards a mid-table finish this season.
It has led to mounting pressure towards manager Graham Potter, who has a task on his hands to try and find a winning formula. "It's really tough," the head coach said on finding a balance between managing the blend of a team and finding results.
"My quote a few weeks ago was that this is probably the toughest job in football, and there are a lot of factors for that. There was a sub-optimal pre-season – and speaking to a few of the experienced guys, they thought it was the worst pre-season they've had for different reasons. That isn't to blame anybody for the reasons. It's just that it happened."
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Despite the results, there have been some green shoots in areas of the performances over recent weeks - with the heavily rotated team against Southampton aside. One of the positives has been the displays of Enzo Fernandez, who made the British transfer record switch to Stamford Bridge on January transfer deadline day.
The World Cup winner has helped improve the midfield ranks since being introduced into the side, which was an area of particular concern. His ability to screen across the back four offers extra defensive stability that has been lost in the absence of N'Golo Kante due to injury, while his capability of receiving a pass from the defenders and moving possession forward has also been a positive.
Given the narrowness with which Tottenham will likely press the back line due to their front three all playing down the middle, receiving the ball under pressure and progressing it will be key, while breaking down counterattacks before they start will be a key job too.
It appears as though Fernandez could be in for a start too as the official club media dropped a potential social media hint over his appearance. They posted a picture of the midfielder with the caption: "Ready to go for #TotChe!"
The youngster has also been showing some of his leadership capabilities too as he called for supporters to trust him, his teammates and the management this weekend.
He told the Telegraph: "Trust the players, trust the backroom staff, trust the manager. Never forget that we are representing you, that we are trying to win games, starting on Sunday. Then we can start to turn things around.”
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