The West London derby between Fulham and Chelsea will be the final time Calum McFarlane is trusted with taking charge of the first team squad.
Liam Rosenior has been hired as the new permanent manager of the club, taking over from Enzo Maresca after he was sacked on January 1.
There won’t be too much fear with McFarlane in charge after he delivered a 1-1 draw away from home against Manchester City at the weekend.
Finish off our XI to face Fulham!
The magnitude of this result was enhanced by the fact the Blues were missing a number of key players at the Etihad. Robert Sanchez, Wesley Fofana and Marc Cucurella were not in the matchday squad.
Robert Sanchez, Wesley Fofana and Marc Cucurella back in training ahead of Chelsea vs Fulham
Sanchez was expected to be fit in time for Fulham, while the hopes were that two of Chelsea’s best back four would be ready to return as soon as possible.
McFarlane confirmed in his pre-match press conference that the trio were all back in training ahead of the West London derby, with a decision yet to be made over whether they will take part.
He said: “They’re all training [Sanchez, Cucurella, Fofana]. We have training in a few hours. We have a lot better idea after the session. Not at this moment, we’ll see how they look and make a call after that.”
On Fofana in particular, the interim manager said: “He’s going to be checked when he comes in.”
Rosenior looking to be impressed in first game since his hiring
The Chelsea squad will be looking to make an impression on their new head coach as he watches on from the stands, with plenty still to play for this season.
Liam Rosenior confirms he will become Chelsea manager
Your initial thoughts on our new manager?
He will likely be particularly interested to see how Liam Delap and Andrey Santos get on, given the fact that he has worked with both in the past.
Delap impressed at Hull under Rosenior, and showed signs of the player Chelsea are hoping they have signed.
Santos was even named captain at Strasbourg during his loan spell, and is another player hoping for minutes after his impressive cameo at City.
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