Chelsea face Tottenham on Tuesday night at Stamford Bridge carrying the weight of a trophyless season and only the slimmest chance of salvaging European football from the wreckage of their FA Cup final defeat. A spirited display at Wembley was not enough to prevent a 1-0 loss to Manchester City, and with two Premier League games remaining, the Blues’ hopes of qualifying for Europe — let alone the Champions League — hang by a thread.
Tuesday night derby carries huge weight
The visit of Tottenham represents Chelsea’s penultimate league fixture before travelling to Sunderland on the final day. Victory in both is non-negotiable if they are to keep any faint European ambition alive, yet the club have not won consecutive league matches since the start of March. Interim head coach Calum McFarlane will be encouraged by the return of several key players to fitness, but his squad remains significantly depleted by long-term injuries that have blighted the campaign.
Injury updates: Estevao, Gittens and Derry ruled out
Brazilian winger Estevao will not play again this season after suffering a serious grade four hamstring tear during the 1-0 defeat to Manchester United. The injury has also ruled him out of this summer’s World Cup; he was omitted from Brazil’s provisional 55-man squad. Standard Sport understands that Estevao and Chelsea have reached an agreement over his recovery programme and that there are currently no plans for surgery. McFarlane confirmed the forward is recovering in Brazil, not in London. “Estevao, unfortunately, won’t play for us this season,” McFarlane said. “He will be out for a little bit of time. We’re not sure how long, but he certainly won’t play for us again this season… I know that Estevao has gone back to Brazil. He’s not in London at the moment; he’s in Brazil recovering.” Despite the setback, the 18-year-old ended his debut campaign with eight goals and four assists in 36 appearances across all competitions.
Jamie Gittens’ first season at Chelsea has been plagued by a recurring hamstring problem. The 21-year-old winger initially suffered the injury during a rare start against West Ham on January 31 and was ruled out for around six weeks, with a return pencilled in for the Newcastle match on March 17. However, a setback in early April — when he “felt his hamstring late after training” ahead of a match against Port Vale — delayed his comeback. He then sustained a fresh hamstring injury in training before the FA Cup tie with Port Vale. Former head coach Liam Rosenior described it as the third time the issue had occurred. “Jamie actually has responded really well to his last setback, but I don’t want to put pressure on him,” Rosenior said. “We need to make sure he’s right in the long term.” Gittens has not resumed full training and his chances of featuring again this season are considered increasingly slim. If he does not play again, he will end the campaign with one goal and five assists in 27 appearances, having started only nine games.
Teenager Jesse Derry’s full Premier League debut ended in distressing fashion on May 5 when he was stretchered off after a sickening collision with Nottingham Forest’s Zach Abbott. The 18-year-old received extensive on-field treatment, including oxygen, before being taken to hospital as a precaution. He was conscious and talking, and McFarlane later described the early signs as “really positive”. Derry posted on Instagram, calling his debut “a dream come true” and adding, “I can’t wait to be back playing in front of everyone very soon.” Nevertheless, his season is over. McFarlane confirmed: “He’s not going to be available for us from now until the end of the season. It’s an abrupt end to his season, but amazing for him to make his debut.” Derry had been handed his first start after knocks to Pedro Neto and Alejandro Garnacho. His father is former Premier League midfielder Shaun Derry.
On a more positive note, Robert Sanchez returned from injury to start the FA Cup final, while Pedro Neto and Alejandro Garnacho both came off the bench at Wembley to prove their fitness. Reece James and Levi Colwill have also returned from long-term injuries and are available for the Tottenham match.
European qualification: the precise scenarios
Chelsea currently sit ninth in the Premier League table with 49 points from 36 matches. Their hopes of qualifying for the Champions League are extraordinarily slender. To achieve a top-five finish — which would secure a place in Europe’s elite competition — they would need to win both remaining league games, against Tottenham and Sunderland, and rely on Aston Villa slipping up in their own fixtures, along with other results falling in their favour. Given Chelsea have not won back-to-back league games since early March, the arithmetic alone makes the task appear improbable, if not impossible. Even a Europa League or Conference League place is far from certain. The club’s 1-0 FA Cup final defeat to Manchester City closed off one potential route into Europe, leaving league position as the only remaining pathway. With two games left, every point is critical, but Chelsea will need significant help from elsewhere to avoid a season without any European football at all.
