Graham Potter makes his return to the south coast on Saturday afternoon as his Chelsea side take on Brighton & Hove Albion in the Premier League.
Potter was appointed as the Blues' new head coach last month after leaving his role at the Seagulls. The 47-year-old spent three years down at the Amex Stadium and returns to the ground for the first time since departing from his post.
However, Potter will be without a few key players for the trip down to the south coast. The Chelsea head coach confirmed in Friday afternoon's pre-match press conference that Kalidou Koulibaly will be sidelined for the third game in a row on Saturday. Koulibaly, as well as long-term absentees Wesley Fofana, Reece James and N'Golo Kante, are all out with injuries.
READ MORE: Graham Potter issues Mateo Kovacic boost but Chelsea dealt Kalidou Koulibaly injury blow
So, with all of this being said, football.london's Chelsea writers Bobby Vincent, Daniel Childs and Scott Trotter have all selected the teams they think Potter should field down at the Amex Stadium.
Bobby Vincent
Kepa Arrizabalaga keeps his place in the team. The Spaniard has been in tremendous recent form and as it stands, there's no clear route back into the team for Edouard Mendy.
With Koulibaly missing, Chelsea could go for a back-three of Trevoh Chalobah, Thiago Silva and Marc Cucurella. Ben Chilwell would then play ahead of Cucurella at left wing-back, while Christian Pulisic can be used on the other side after a couple of impressive displays.
A midfield trio of Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Mason Mount and Jorginho should be what Potter picks. Mateo Kovacic struggled with fatigue in midweek so a rest for the Croatian could be the way to go. A front two of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Kai Havertz in a 3-5-2 formation.
Bobby's XI: Kepa, Chalobah, Silva, Cucurella, Pulisic, Jorginho, Loftus-Cheek, Mount, Chilwell, Aubameyang, Havertz.
Daniel Childs
It's probably the wing-back derby despite the narrative of Potter returning to the Amex being extremely high. Will we see the wild tactical experimentation that mostly worked in Salzburg?
Brighton under Roberto De Zerbi are not radically different to Potter's, they rely on width, they want to the ball and have the players to trouble most defences. The upside of this progressive approach offers Chelsea space if they can break through Brighton's press.
Pulisic deserves another league start here, along with Kai Havertz who should be confident after his winner. Mason Mount is likely to return as Potter has the comfort of a dead rubber against Zagreb next Wednesday.
Daniel's XI: Kepa, Chalobah, Silva, Cucurella, Pulisic, Kovacic, Loftus-Cheek, Gallagher, Mount, Havertz, Aubameyang.
Scott Trotter
The fixtures keep coming for Potter and undoubtedly we'll see more changes again as he faces his former team. Given the injury issues in defence, Silva and Chalobah feel guaranteed to start ahead of Kepa against the Seagulls.
Having started Cesar Azpilicueta from the bench against Salzburg, the Spanish veteran may be in line to start this weekend either at right back or as a wing-back, with Potter perhaps wanting to show some versatility. Kovacic is due a rest as he carries a knee issue and fatigue in his calf, meaning Jorginho and Loftus-Cheek are most likely to start in the centre.
Mount will return to the starting XI after he was placed on the bench for the first time under Potter in midweek and he may be joined by Pulisic and Havertz given their form, withPierre-Emerick Aubameyang leading the line.
Scott's XI: Kepa, Azpilicueta, Chalobah, Silva, Chilwell; Jorginho, Loftus-Cheek, Mount, Havertz, Pulisic, Aubameyang.
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