The people’s choice against Everton: More defensive shuffling

LONDON, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 30: The shirts of Josh Acheampong, Wesley Fofana and Malo Gusto are displayed inside the Chelsea dressing room prior to the Premier League match between Chelsea and Bournemouth at Stamford Bridge on December 30, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images) | Chelsea FC via Getty Images Chelsea are dealing with some defensive injuries at the moment, most notably to Reece James and Trevoh Chalobah, which will result in some more defensive shuffling for today’s game against Everton. James has been relatively durable this season (whether at right back or midfield) while Chalobah was third on the team in terms of minutes played behind only Enzo Fernández and Robert Sánchez.

In their stead, the WAGNH Community have opted for a pairing of Mamadou Sarr and Wesley Fofana, while Josh Acheampong slots in at right back with Malo Gusto’s (28%) availability uncertain. If Gusto’s over his illness, he probably starts and Acheampong maybe moves to the middle alongside Fofana? The rest of the lineup is very familiar, with Andrey Santos (59%) just edging out Estêvão (54%) for the final spot in the lineup — which means Enzo sliding forward into his left-center position.

4-2-3-1 (78%) Sánchez (95%) | Cucurella (97%), Sarr (61%), Fofana (76%), Acheampong (79%) | Santos (59%), Caicedo (94%) | Enzo (81%), Palmer (89%), Neto (58%) | João Pedro (96%) Plenty others received notable amounts, including Jorrel Hato (33%), Alejandro Garnacho (31%), Roméo Lavia (27%), and even Tosin Adarabioyo (18%)