Levi Colwill could lose his place in the Chelsea starting lineup following the return of Benoit Badiashile and Ben Chilwell
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Chelsea head into the west London derby off the back of a frustrating defeat to Middlesbrough in the Carabao Cup semi-final first-leg. Fulham also suffered a midweek misery in the League Cup, conceding a 1-0 lead against Liverpool at Anfield on Wednesday night.
Mauricio Pochettino will be desperate to return to winning ways this weekend – and the Blues boss could have a trick up his sleeve following the return of Badiashile and Chilwell. If the 51-year-old is planning to throw the duo back into the limelight then it could cost Levi Colwill his place in the starting lineup.
Like the Cobham graduate, Badiashile prefers operating at left centre-back, meanwhile Chilwell is a natural full-back. Following Chelsea's defeat to the Championship outfit at the Riverside Stadium on Tuesday night, Pochettino addressed Colwill's shaky performance.
"I think we would all agree Levi is a young player that can play in different positions," said the Blues boss. "Last game he played like a centre-back with Axel [Disasi], today we played Thiago [Silva] with Axel, Malo Gusto on the right and on the left Levi.
"We were talking a lot. I think it's for him to take experience in Premier League with Chelsea playing there. I think it will help him be a better player and in the end it is to feel the competition.
"I don't like to compare with another player but if you find some similarities with different clubs who sign players that can play centre-back or play full-back, you can find easily. Look, for me Levi is having a fantastic season.
"He is playing centre-back or full-back and is a player for the future of Chelsea. At the moment, when you don't win, when you struggle and we are a young team with young players and they need to learn and need to improve in the competition."