As has been the case throughout this season, Thomas Tuchel and his Chelsea players will have very little time to digest their previous results. Given on this occasion it was a 4-2 defeat at home to Arsenal, that is perhaps not the worst thing ahead of yet another London derby.
West Ham United visit Stamford Bridge on Sunday, and David Moyes' side have to win to keep their hopes of securing a top-four finish alive. The Irons can't afford to drop any more points in their battle against Premier League heavyweights Manchester United, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur.
Chelsea's position in the top-flight table is more secure. The Blues sit third and have a five-point advantage over Spurs, who currently occupy fourth.
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Yet Tuchel will not want his players to let the door open to those in the chasing pack. His side must produce a performance and end a run of three consecutive defeats at home.
In order for that to happen, the Chelsea head coach is going to have to make changes to his starting XI. He can't go with the same team that started against Arsenal, given the defensively-inept display that played out under the Stamford Bridge lights on Wednesday evening. And here are four players we feel should return to the side against West Ham.
Silva returns
Not too much explaining is required here. Christensen started against Arsenal in midweek but was at fault for the Gunners' opener, and the Dane lacked his usual composure throughout the opening period. He was also brought off at half-time with what Tuchel said was an injury issue.
Thiago Silva replaced Christensen and, in the process, became the oldest player (37 years and 210 days) to feature for Chelsea in the Premier League. It's a sign of the Brazilian's quality that he remains the vital component in the Blues' defence – it's why he has played the second-most minutes of any Chelsea outfield player this term.
So expect Silva to start in the middle of the Chelsea back three against the Hammers on Sunday. For Christensen, given he appears set to join Barcelona when his contract expires at the end of the season, it's debatable as to whether he will be trusted again by Tuchel during the season run-in.
Sarr steps out
Trevoh Chalobah remains Chelsea's unexpected star of the campaign, the man who went from a loan move away to first-team regular under Tuchel. Yet in recent weeks, he hasn't been afforded game time and was even left out of the matchday squads to face Brentford and Crystal Palace.
Tuchel has already stated that Chalobah will be given match action in the games ahead. "Trevoh played a lot and has had a very, very good season so far," the German coach said ahead of the midweek defeat to Arsenal. "He had a little dip in form some weeks ago, but for many weeks he is back in full shape in training.
"We had a talk recently, but I cannot prove [what was said] with minutes and game minutes at the moment. But he is exactly at the level where he was at the beginning of the season. For me, he is taking it very well and trains excellently. This is what we demand from him. I think he will see it with minutes in the next matches."
Sarr was handed an opportunity against Arsenal; the Frenchman stepped in to replace the injured Antonio Rudiger. It didn't work, and Sarr struggled – the 23-year-old gave away possession a mammoth 22 times across a rather calamitous 90 minutes in which the Gunners scored four times.
Chalobah is not naturally left-footed but was comfortable playing on the left of a back three last term while on loan at Ligue 1 side Lorient. The demands on him in Tuchel's system would be greater, especially in possession, but he is worth a go with Rudiger expected to miss the game.
Jorginho composure needed
There was no reason for Tuchel not to start Loftus-Cheek against Arsenal. The academy graduate was confident off the back of two impressive outings at right wing-back, and a goal scored off the bench in the FA Cup semi-final victory over Crystal Palace last Sunday, in which Loftus-Cheek caught the eye in midfield.
He struggled against Arsenal, however, and with Chelsea in need of a result against West Ham to halt an alarming run of defeats at home, Tuchel may opt to bring Jorginho back into his midfield and partner the Italian with N'Golo Kante. It would be a somewhat back-to-basics approach, a return to the midfield that helped the Blues win the Champions League. And with Mateo Kovacic injured, there is probably not a better option.
Lukaku again dropped
Ahead of the Arsenal game, Tuchel threw down a challenge to Lukaku. "For us, it is clear, we can play with Romelu, and we can be very strong with Romelu, and we proved it," the Chelsea head coach said. "We will prove it if he is involved and keeps involved mentally and he stays involved in the situation to go through this, he can grow from it and come back stronger.
"It is always like this, and it is for sure disappointing for him and not what we expected, not what we expected at the moment, but it is not finished, and we will not give in. We never give in with any players, and we never give up. We will push him, we will push as far as we can, and as long as the player stays involved in the mentality that is needed to bring a team forward, he can still be a crucial player."
It was no surprise that Lukaku started after Tuchel's comments, but the Belgian lasted an hour before being replaced by Havertz, and as Lukaku walked off the Stamford Bridge pitch, he was booed by a minority of the Chelsea supporters inside Stamford Bridge. It felt like a point of no return for the striker.
There is no doubt at this stage that the Chelsea attack functions better with Havertz as the spearhead. And despite Tuchel stating in midweek that the German was overloaded, he may well be pressed back into action on Sunday as the Blues go in hunt of three points in their bid to sew up a top-four place.
