John Terry to miss Chelsea-Tottenham match with muscle injury

Chelsea will be without their club captain as they get ready to host Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday in a rematch of last spring’s “Battle of the Bridge.” Chelsea manager Antonio Conte has confirmed that central defender John Terry will miss the match with a muscle injury.

Terry hasn’t featured for the Blues since early November, and, frankly, his absence is unlikely to overly concern Chelsea, who have won their past six league matches. Conte is almost certain to run his 3-4-2-1 formation with a back line of Cesar Azpilicueta, David Luiz, and Gary Cahill in place of Terry. Elsewhere, Jon Obi Mikel is also on Chelsea’s injury list

On the Tottenham side, Toby Alderweireld and Ben Davies are both confirmed out for Saturday’s match at Stamford Bridge. Erik Lamela is still dealing with a hip flexor injury; Spurs haven’t confirmed whether he’s ready to return, but at this point there’s nothing that would lead us to anticipate that he’ll be fit for Chelsea. Danny Rose will also miss the match due to suspension after picking up his fifth yellow card against West Ham last weekend.

With Rose out and Jan Vertonghen rested, it’s expected that Mauricio Pochettino will shift Vertonghen to left back for this match. Kevin Wimmer and Eric Dier will likely form the central defense pairing, with Kyle Walker returning to the side on the other flank. Pochettino has also hinted that Harry Winks could be in line to make this third consecutive start in midfield.