Chelsea head coach Mauricio Pochettino will be forced into a defensive alteration for Monday's Premier League London derby with Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.

The Blues stunned Aston Villa 3-1 to advance to the fifth round of the FA Cup in midweek, but the evening was not entirely perfect, as Benoit Badiashile picked up a groin injury and will miss the imminent capital clash.

However, while one defender enters the infirmary, two have exited, as both Levi Colwill and Trevoh Chalobah - the latter of whom is still waiting for his first minutes of the season - are now back in full training with the Blues.

Chalobah will certainly be given more time to regain match fitness, leaving Colwill to engage in a two-way tussle with Thiago Silva, who was dropped from the first XI for the FA Cup fourth-round replay after a couple of shaky displays.

Following a social media outburst from his wife - who appeared to call for a change in management after the loss to Wolverhampton Wanderers - Pochettino affirmed that the decision to drop Silva was for tactical reasons, and the Brazilian should be the top candidate for a recall this week.

Silva will link up with Djordje Petrovic, Malo Gusto, Axel Disasi and Ben Chilwell in an otherwise unchanged rearguard, while Enzo Fernandez - who capped off his dazzling display against Villa with a wonderful free kick - joins Moises Caicedo in the engine room again.

Pochettino has no reason whatsoever to alter the attacking quartet after their Villa Park success, as Conor Gallagher, Noni Madueke, Cole Palmer and Nicolas Jackson strut their stuff on the Selhurst Park soil.

Marc Cucurella (ankle), Wesley Fofana (knee), Reece James (thigh), Lesley Ugochukwu (hamstring) and Romeo Lavia (thigh) remain out of action, as does Robert Sanchez (knee), although the goalkeeper is back in partial team training.

Chelsea possible starting lineup:
Petrovic; Gusto, Disasi, Silva, Chilwell; Fernandez, Caicedo; Madueke, Gallagher, Palmer; Jackson body check tags ::