Liam Rosenior will be watching on from the stands when Chelsea take on Fulham in the west London derby tonight.
The Blues confirmed the arrival of their new head coach on Tuesday following Enzo Maresca’s shock exit last week.
While he has been unveiled by the club, he is not expected to take his first training session until Thursday ahead of the FA Cup third round clash with Charlton at the weekend.
It means Calum McFarlane will be in the dugout once again for the quick trip up the road to Craven Cottage following on from the promising display against Manchester City at the weekend.
Chelsea were without Moises Caicedo at the Etihad with the Ecuador international serving a one-match suspension but he will be available to take his place alongside Enzo Fernandez again tonight.
Robert Sanchez withdrew from the starting XI on Sunday shortly before kick-off with a minor muscle injury with Filip Jorgensen stepping in.
The former Brighton star returned to training this week however and is expected to reclaim his spot in the side.
Marc Cucurella was another who missed the City game but he too is in contention to feature against the Cottagers. Wesley Fofana is also available after shaking off a recent knock.
Cole Palmer managed to complete a game for the first time since September on Sunday with the England international slowly getting back to full fitness after a difficult period with injuries.
Chelsea XI to face Fulham – Metro prediction
Sanchez, Fofana, Cucurella and Caicedo will all be expected to return to the team tonight with Alejandro Garnacho also possibly in line for a start ahead of Estevao.
Prefer us to the others? Then tell Google!
As a loyal Metro reader, we want to make sure you never miss our stories when searching for your news. Whether it is the latest politics news explained, live football coverage or a showbiz scoop.
Click here and tick Metro.co.uk to ensure you see stories from us first in Google Search.
Fulham vs Chelsea TV channel, live stream and kick-off time
Fulham vs Chelsea kicks off tonight (7 January) at 7:30pm.
You can watch the match live on Sky Sports Premier League and Sky Sports Main Event with streaming also available through the Sky Go app and NOW TV for subscribers.
