Chelsea’s probable lineup vs BATE Borisov: first start for young winger

CM: Cesc Fabregas

At the wrong side of 30 and with so much competition for a place in the central midfield area, the cups are Cesc’s best chance of minutes these days.

The veteran Spaniard will hope to dictate things from the centre. His experience and savvy should shine through against the European minnows.

CM: Ross Barkley

It’s hard to say whether Barkley or Mateo Kovacic will be preferred for Thursday night’s fixture. It may be more pertinent to predict who will be favored for Sunday’s clash against Everton. If one of the two has started midweek then the other has started that weekend.

Barkley was poor against Palace; while, Kovacic impressed coming off the bench. However, Barkley had been on fire up to that point so it’s a tough call for the manager.

Meanwhile, Ethan Ampadu should return from injury to make the bench.

CM: Ruben Loftus Cheek

The man everyone will be tuning in to see. The 22-year-old was electric when the sides met a fortnight ago. He scored twice within ten minutes and eventually bagged a hat-trick.

He came off the bench to score again that weekend versus Burnley and such goalscoring feats will have delighted both his manager for club and country. Gareth Southgate lauded the youngster as the complete midfielder during the World Cup but did drop in that he needed to add goals to his game.

Loftus Cheek also started against Derby. He may not have found the back of the net but he was again Chelsea’s best player on the night.