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Chelsea team news: Injuries, suspensions and line-up vs Swansea

Chelsea are eight points clear at the top of the table but face a rejuvinated Swansea, one of only two Premier League teams they have failed to beat this season.

Manchester City closed the gap at the league summit following Chelsea's draw at Burnley, and Swansea have been much improved since Paul Clement's appointment as manager in January. Clement, the former Chelsea coach, has helped his team pick up more points than the Blues in 2017 and Conte will be keen for his players to avoid complaceny against a team that beat Liverpool at Anfield and also caused trouble for Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium. 

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CHELSEA INJURIES


Chelsea have endured few injury problems this season and the entire squad is expected to be available for the game at Stamford Bridge.

David Luiz is playing through a minor knee injury but has been available for all of Chelsea's big clashes. Conte, however, chose to rest him and Marcos Alonso for the FA Cup win over Wolverhampton Wanderers last weekend.

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Thibaut Courtois was suffering from gastroenteritis at the weekend but has been training and will return to the starting line-up ahead of Asmir Begovic, who played at Wolves.

Charly Musonda and Kenedy have returned to the club after being recalled from their loan moves at Real Betis and Watford respectively, expected to provide cover for the remainder of the season.

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CHELSEA SUSPENSIONS


Chelsea have no players suspended for the match and have had few issues with discipline all season. John Terry has been their only player to be sent off, in the FA Cup against Peterborough United.

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In 2017 the rules altered slightly regarding suspensions for an accumulation of yellow cards, with 10 bookings now being required to acquire a ban. Pedro is only three bookings away from a two-match suspension after he received a yellow card against Wolves, meaning he is now on seven for the campaign.

N'Golo Kante and Luiz both have six bookings in domestic competitions, while Nemanja Matic, Diego Costa and Cesc Fabregas all have five.  

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CHELSEA POTENTIAL STARTING LINE-UP


Conte is set to use his tried and tested first XI. The Blues are having success by making fewer rotations than their rivals while playing in a 3-4-3 formation. In terms of personnel, Pedro and Willian have been battling it out for a place up top, while Nemanja Matic and Cesc Fabregas compete in central midfield. 

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Diego Costa will lead the line as he competes with the likes of Arsenal's Alexis Sanchez and Everton's Romelu Lukaku for the Premier League Golden Boot.

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SWANSEA TEAM NEWS


Swansea's challenge in west London is made harder by several absentees. Nathan Dyer has a long-term achilles injury, Sung-yueng Ki is still out with a knee injury and Jefferson Montero will also be missing from the midfield because of a hamstring problem. Clement announced his doubts on Thursday, ahead of the match. 

"Ki is still unavailable as is Montero," He said. "Dyer out long term, he was back today for first time and everyone else available."

Leon Britton has announced himself as fit after not yet featuring in 2017, quoted by the South Wales Evening Post as saying: "I have been training all week with no reaction, so that has been fine.

"Obviously we don't have a game this weekend so I will rest up this weekend and then start training again on Monday. All being well I will get through another full week of training and be ready to go for that game at Chelsea."

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BEST OPTA MATCH FACTS


  • Diego Costa has scored seven goals in his four Premier League games against Swansea, more than he has against any other side in the competition. This includes a hat-trick in this exact fixture in September 2014.

  • Gylfi Sigurdsson has scored four Premier League goals against Chelsea, more than he has against any other side (two for Swansea, two for Tottenham).

  • Swansea have taken 12 points from a possible 18 in 2017 so far (W4 D0 L2), one more than Chelsea have (11).


TV COVERAGE & KICK-OFF TIME


The game is due to kick off at 15:00 on Saturday, and therefore, won't be televised live on UK television. The highlights will first appear on BBC's Match of The Day at around 22:30. 

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