Chelsea have been far from convincing since returning to action after the November international break, but Maurizio Sarri’s side remain in the top four of the Premier League table and have qualified for the last 32 of the Europa League.
The Italian can also guide his team to a place in the last four of the EFL Cup with victory on Wednesday night, but the recently-appointed boss will acknowledge that the Blues are still falling short of the standards expected of them.
There is an argument that Chelsea have not delivered a convincing performance in a meaningful game since the 4-0 demolition of Burnley on October 28, but that may change as Sarri tinkers with his team over a hectic period.
The former Napoli chief has handed starts to just 17 different players in the Premier League this season, and squad members will be keen to use games such as the one this week to stake their claim for an outing in the top flight.
Olivier Giroud and Alvaro Morata are aware that they must improve in the final third, although the former will point to the fact that three goals have come from his last two outings in Europe.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Ross Barkley both find themselves in the position of needing more starts, despite doing all what has been asked of them in their rotational roles over the past four months.
Emerson Palmieri will hope that a strong showing in this game can lead to more outings over the coming weeks, but it remains to be seen whether Ethan Ampadu and Callum Hudson-Odoi will be given an appearance in this fixture.
The pair both featured in Chelsea’s final two group games in the Europa League, but Sarri has held each youngster back for the ties with Liverpool and Derby County earlier in this competition.
However, that approach suggests that Sarri has ambitions to win this trophy and with a team full of players keen to make an impression, it is difficult to back against the West Londoners reaching the semi-finals.