Chelsea XI vs Arsenal: Confirmed team news, predicted lineup and latest injuries

Frank Lampard will give Reece James as long as possible to recover from a knee injury sustained against Newcastle before selecting his Chelsea team to face Arsenal.

Should James fail to recover, Cesar Azpilicueta will switch to right-back with either Emerson Palmieri or Marcus Alonso coming in at left-back.

Alonso’s only appearance since November 5 was in last month’s 2-0 win at Tottenham, so Emerson looks favourite to deputise having come off the bench to replace his young team-mate at St James’ Park last Saturday.

Elsewhere, Lampard may look to freshen up his midfield with Ross Barkley a possible inclusion.

The Blues’ head coach wants more end product from his front three but with Christian Pulisic out injured, he may persevere with Willian and Callum Hudson-Odoi either side of Tammy Abraham in attack.

Ruben Loftus-Cheek remains several weeks away from a return as he recovers from Achilles surgery.

Chelsea predicted XI (4-3-3): Kepa, Azpilicueta, Christensen, Rudiger, Emerson; Kante, Jorginho, Barkley; Hudson-Odoi, Abraham, Willian