Chelsea will pray that a victory against Everton on Sunday can be the potential boost they need to start putting together a positive sequence of results, the inconsistent Blues marooned in mid-table mediocrity after 15 Premier League games.
Mauricio Pochettino's appointment hasn't had the desired effect everyone anticipated, his mismatch Chelsea side showing signs of promise on occasion but falling flat more times than not – the west London giants occupying an unsatisfactory tenth spot at the time of writing after a 2-1 loss to Manchester United last game.
The Argentinian boss in the Blues dug-out could look to freshen up his side for the task of overcoming a Toffees team buoyed on by a convincing 3-0 win over Newcastle United mid-week, a tricky test at Goodison Park on Sunday.
Here is Pochettino's predicted lineup for the game versus the Toffees, with three potential changes from the loss at Old Trafford.
1 GK – Robert Sanchez
One of many summer signings in through the door at Stamford Bridge, former Brighton man Robert Sanchez has emerged as his manager's first-choice goalkeeper this campaign.
Keeping three clean sheets from 15 top-flight appearances, the Spanish shot-stopper ensured the Red Devils didn't romp home to a more comprehensive win last match with seven saves at Old Trafford – as per Sofascore – which included a first-half penalty stop.
2 RB – Reece James
Cautiously giving his captain a 45-minute run-out against Man United – James coming back from an injury lay-off – Pochettino could risk it all and opt to start the skipper ahead of stand-in right-back Marc Cucurella against Everton.
James put a shift in against Erik ten Hag's side when substituted on, winning all of his ground duels in the tight game whilst successfully completing all of his three dribble attempts.
This will be a selection headache, but James could start against Everton despite concerns over his fitness.
3 CB – Levi Colwill
Axel Disasi could drop out for the trip to Merseyside, Levi Colwill moving over into a more natural centre-back role in his place after starting as a left-back last time out.
Wearing the captain's armband for the day, Colwill was valiant in his efforts to thwart the Red Devils when they ventured forward – winning seven of his 11 duels over the 90 minutes.
Whereas, Disasi had a quiet game in the heart of defence with zero tackles registered and only one successful duel won.
It's not been the best start to life in England for the £38.5m summer buy, labelled as a "disaster" by talkSPORT pundit Michael Jacobs early into the campaign after a poor showing versus West Ham United.
4 CB – Thiago Silva
Thiago Silva continues to be one of the first names on the team sheet at Chelsea, even with the Brazilian defender entering the last years of his illustrious career at 39 years of age.
Silva is showing no signs of rust however featuring for the Blues recently, blocking two Man United shots last match.
Moreover, the veteran defender starred in Chelsea's action-packed last home match against Brighton – completing 31 of his 33 passes in the win, whilst still offering reliable defensive protection with six of his seven duels successful.
5 LB – Marc Cucurella
Marc Cucurella doesn't drop out of the predicted XI altogether despite James coming in at right-back, the former Brighton defender moving over instead to a more familiar left-back spot.
The Spanish full-back has had an up-and-down time at Stamford Bridge since joining Chelsea last year, but has shown glimpses of his quality this campaign.
Averaging 4.8 ball recoveries per game this season, Pochettino will hope he can be an energetic presence down the flanks at Goodison Park this weekend.
6 CM – Moises Caicedo
Chelsea's mega-money buy – Moises Caicedo costing the Blues a hefty £115m – will be in line for a start against Everton after a determined display at Old Trafford.
Despite his team coming away from the contest empty-handed, Caicedo left nothing out on the turf versus Ten Hag's side – a full-blooded performance saw the 22-year-old amass 80 touches of the ball, sliding into six tackles too in an effort to shore up a susceptible Blues defence behind him.
7 CM – Enzo Fernandez
Caicedo's midfield partner in Enzo Fernandez was noticeably below-par mid-week, but he will retain his spot against Everton owing to a lack of options available to Pochettino to easily replace the South American midfielder with a quality back-up.
Chelsea's number eight has shown enough in other top-flight games that he's worthy of being selected again, scoring two goals at Stamford Bridge last match against Brighton to help his team gain three points.
8 RM – Cole Palmer
Cole Palmer could be moved over to the right wing to play ahead of Raheem Sterling for this weekend's game, Palmer far more effective going forward versus United than his more experienced counterpart was.
The former Manchester City youth product scored Chelsea's only goal of the game at Old Trafford, skilfully guiding the ball into the net past Andre Onana after a mazy solo run.
Whereas, Sterling failed to test Onana all game with zero shots attempted.
Playing in a central attacking midfield role against Man United, Pochettino will hope a positional switch doesn't destabilise Palmer for the trip to Merseyside.
9 CAM – Conor Gallagher
Ready to be selected again after serving a suspension, Conor Gallagher could come back into the side and play in the central attacking spot occupied by Palmer last game.
Gallagher will be eager to help his team pick up a win at Goodison Park if he is selected, wanting to add a fifth assist to his tally for the campaign against Everton.
10 LM – Armando Broja
Pochettino could really shake things up by starting Armando Broja at left wing this Sunday ahead of Mykhaylo Mudryk, the former Shakhtar Donesk man continuing to frustrate the Blues masses.
It's even led to former Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp vocally slamming the decision by Chelsea to splash £88.5m on the Ukrainian winger recently, the Blues breaking the bank to sign "very average players" according to Redknapp.
He was credited with an assist for Palmer's goal last match, but Mudryk was largely anonymous otherwise.
Broja was promising off the bench in contrast, unlucky not to score a header late in the match to level the game.
