If things go their way, Chelsea could finish the weekend just three points behind Tottenham and in sixth position. For most of the season, it has seemed like an unlikely and nearly impossible collection of circumstances.

But a spurt in confidence during the second half against Aston Villa gave the team even more motivation to rally for back-to-back home London derbies. After all, not much is as beneficial as defeating Tottenham.

Rather than marking the beginning of a new winning streak, their victory in the rematch was the culmination of one. Mauricio Pochettino will now be hoping that, instead of depressing draws and earnest away defeats, the lopsided 5-0 triumph over West Ham may become the new standard.

There is still a possibility to qualify for the Europa League after seven of the last eight games in all competitions at Stamford Bridge have ended in victories and one in a draw. At 3pm, Newcastle faces the difficult task of playing Brighton, and then the Blues head to Nottingham Forest.

Even at home, Manchester United is an overwhelming underdog against Arsenal. Burnley, meanwhile, is hosted by Tottenham. Although there is little chance that circumstances will cooperate to give Chelsea a fifth-place finish, it is nonetheless encouraging to have a chance.

Now, players walk with a bounce in their stride, fans at Cobham are genuinely smiling, and there’s a growing sense in the stands that something significant is happening. Football.london provides a behind-the-scenes look at training photos from Cobham.

Union of the center-back

Wesley Fofana’s season-ending ιnjury presented Chelsea with numerous challenges. One has been relying too much on Axel Disasi, a July addition.

Though he has only started one of the last five league games—a 5-0 loss to Arsenal—he has also struggled with fitness in the past month. Trevoh Chalobah, meantime, has kept up his impressive play after making a comeback from ιnjury.

He has won four of his seven league starts thus far, including the 6-0 and 5-0 triumphs over West Ham and Everton. He is undefeated in league play this season. Chalobah’s performance has paralleled Benoit Badiashile’s as he has recovered to the point where he was considered one of Todd Boehly’s Clearlake Capital greatest buys.

Chalobah and the Frenchman have started the last three games together, and they were both spotted being upbeat at Cobham. Chalobah and Disasi shook hands, Badiashile shining in the background. Pochettino will be hopeful that the three players can get a clean sheet and three points in the next game.

Sterling grinning

Raheem Sterling appears to be doing okay, considering that he hasn’t started a league game in almost two months, has been sidelined by illness and ιnjury, has lost his spot on the national team, and is once again being considered as a potential summer transfer target.

He has been having a difficult time lately, as he was jeered off the field during his most recent start in any competition. Even though the 29-year-old is going through personal challenges, he is still positive.

He was spotted posing beside Chalobah and Noni Madueke, the player who keeps him out of the starting lineup, as the three Englishmen together. During what looked to be a one-sided possession game, Sterling also smiled, basking in the sun with Madueke and Disasi, all of whom had cheetah-like smiles on their lips.

Although Sterling netted all three of Chelsea’s goals against Forest the previous season, it seems unlikely that he will start at the City Ground. He appears content to be participating in team training again, though.

Caicedo’s recent pal

If Chelsea’s recent, quick turnaround has caught everyone off guard, one of the main players responsible is even more so. Marc Cucurella had been at Chelsea for eighteen turbulent months, but nobody believed he was the solution.

In addition to covering for the injured Ben Chilwell and Levi Colwill, the Spaniard has assumed a midfield role that Enzo Fernandez would have been proud of when he had possession. Cucurella has closed some of the gaps surrounding Caicedo, which has made his job easier, even though he does not offer the same cutting-edge and range of passing.

He seemed to be pushing that new relationship a bit further at the property in Surrey. Cucurella appeared to be going above and above in his screening job, positioning himself in front of Caicedo in two photos and getting up close and personal with his Ecuadorian colleague.

Although the two still have a lot of work ahead of them in order to close the season out well, their relationship can now be classified as “emerging and promising.”