Maurizio Sarri intends to field Eden Hazard as Chelsea seek a fourth win from four Europa League Group L games at BATE Borisov on Thursday night, but in-form striker Alvaro Morata has been prescribed rest.

Hazard missed three games with a back injury, returning as a substitute in last Sunday’s Premier League win over Crystal Palace, which featured two goals from Morata.

The Spain striker has five goals in his last six Blues appearances, missing a hat-trick chance against Palace, but Sarri opted to leave Morata at Chelsea’s Surrey training base ahead of Sunday’s league clash with Everton.

“He played three matches in a row, so I thought it was better for him to stay in Cobham to rest and to have two good training sessions,” the Blues head coach said.

“It’s normal for a player to play three or four matches and then rest. Otherwise, we can have a squad with 13 or 14 players.”

Chelsea vs Crystal Palace: Player Ratings Show all 22 1 /22 Chelsea vs Crystal Palace: Player Ratings Chelsea vs Crystal Palace: Player Ratings Kepa Arrizabalaga - 6 Had very little to do. Couldn’t be blamed for letting in Towsend’s goal. REUTERS Chelsea vs Crystal Palace: Player Ratings César Azpilicueta - 7 Unspectacular but effective. Did what was required, as is often the case. Getty Images Chelsea vs Crystal Palace: Player Ratings Antonio Rudiger - 7 A composed presence at the back. Did well alongside Luiz. REUTERS Chelsea vs Crystal Palace: Player Ratings David Luiz - 7 Needed to be on form to deal with Zaha and Townsend, partuclarly in the opening stages. AFP/Getty Images Chelsea vs Crystal Palace: Player Ratings Marcos Alonso - 6 Ocassionally exposed defensively, but got forward well and set up the third goal. Getty Images Chelsea vs Crystal Palace: Player Ratings N'Golo Kante - 6 Typically energetic, although seemed to struggle to find his passing range. Getty Images Chelsea vs Crystal Palace: Player Ratings Jorginho - 6 Was not as controlling in midfield as usual. Bypassed at times when Palace broke forward. AFP/Getty Images Chelsea vs Crystal Palace: Player Ratings Ross Barkley - 6 Didn’t quite perform to the standards he has set in recent weeks. Replaced just after the hour mark. REUTERS Chelsea vs Crystal Palace: Player Ratings Pedro - 7 Set up the first goal and scored the third. A lively presence out wide. EPA Chelsea vs Crystal Palace: Player Ratings Alvaro Morata - 8 A constant threat and deserved his goals. Looked in a confident mood – a welcome site for Chelsea fans. AP Chelsea vs Crystal Palace: Player Ratings Willian - 6 Involved in Chelsea’s attacks throughout but was often left frustrated. EPA Chelsea vs Crystal Palace: Player Ratings Wayne Hennessey - 7 Made several impressive saves. Denied Morata a hattrick more than once. REUTERS Chelsea vs Crystal Palace: Player Ratings Aaron Wan-Bissaka - 6 A difficult test for the youngster. He struggled at times defensively but got forward with typical purposefulness. EPA Chelsea vs Crystal Palace: Player Ratings James Tomkins - 7 Made a number of key interventions at the back and helped keep things relatively tight. Getty Images Chelsea vs Crystal Palace: Player Ratings Mamadou Sakho - 6 Struggled to track Morata's runs beyond the back line. AP Chelsea vs Crystal Palace: Player Ratings Patrick van Aanholt - 6 Looked to push forward whenever possible but was unusually wasteful in the final third. EPA Chelsea vs Crystal Palace: Player Ratings James McArthur - 7 Provided the pass for Townsend’s goal and played with composure in midfield throughout. AFP/Getty Images Chelsea vs Crystal Palace: Player Ratings Cheikhou Kouyaté - 6 Didn’t impose himself on the game as he would have liked. Struggled to get involved. Action Images via Reuters Chelsea vs Crystal Palace: Player Ratings Luka Milivojevic - 6 Didn’t see much of the ball given Chelsea’s dominance in possession, but made some important interventions defensively. AFP/Getty Images Chelsea vs Crystal Palace: Player Ratings Max Meyer - 6 Looked lively early on and created a couple of chances. Faded as the game went on. Getty Images Chelsea vs Crystal Palace: Player Ratings Andros Townsend - 7 Took his goal superbly and threatened on the break throughout. AFP/Getty Images Chelsea vs Crystal Palace: Player Ratings Wilfried Zaha - 7 Direct and skilful on the break, and caused Chelsea’s defenders constant problems. Just lacked his usual cutting edge. Action Images via Reuters

The Italian reverted to his native tongue in an animated explanation, apparently riled by his decision being questioned.

David Luiz, Antonio Rudiger and Marcos Alonso were also left in London, while Cesc Fabregas was a late withdrawal with illness, necessitating a call-up for N’Golo Kante, who otherwise would have been rested too.

On Hazard travelling, Sarri added: “There is not any risk, otherwise he would stay in Cobham, of course.

“We thought for him it’s better to play, not for 90 minutes, but to play after two weeks without training.

“In the last match he played only for 30 minutes. The best for him is he will play 45, 50 minutes.”

Chelsea will be confirmed in first place with two rounds of matches to go if they win at BATE Borisov and the other Group L game, between Vidi and PAOK in Budapest, is drawn.

Hazard has been managing a back injury (Reuters) (REUTERS)

Mateo Kovacic warned against complacency, though, after watching Liverpool lose at Red Star Belgrade.

“I watched the game, Liverpool struggled a lot,” the on-loan Real Madrid midfielder said.

“The most important thing is we need to be prepared so that what happened to Liverpool doesn’t happen to us.”