Chelsea: Xabi Alonso explains injury which ruled Reece James out of England duty

They will have to do it without their skipper, however, with manager Xabi Alonso issuing the latest on the 26-year-old ahead of the game.

"He had a little injury in his hamstring,” the Spaniard told Sky Sports.

Injured: Reece James

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“He tried, we waited until this morning but he coudldn't make it. Now we have enough time to prepare for the next one. He was just short of recovering."

James has featured exclusively in midfield under Alonso this term, and his absence gives Jordan Henderson a chance to make his first start since his summer move.

The England international starts against the side where he terminated his contract in order to move to Stamford Bridge, and he is joined in the engine room by Valentin Barco, who is also afforded his first league start since his switch from sister club Strasbourg.

Pedro Neto is fast becoming Alonso’s go-to option at right wing-back, while Pep Chavarria has also done enough to earn the nod on the opposite flank.

It seems as though the new Chelsea boss has settled on his first-choice defensive trio in his 3-4-2-1 shape, with Wesley Fofana, Maxence Lacroix and Levi Colwill named to deal with threat of Igor Thiago, Kevin Schade and Jaidon Anthony, in an attacking lineup named by Keith Andrews.