Antonio Conte has left Diego Costa sweating on his place for Chelsea’s FA Cup semi-final against Tottenham Hotspur and has denied John Terry what could have been a Wembley farewell.

Head coach Conte has looked at all forward options available to him ahead of Saturday’s clash against Spurs, which include dropping Costa and playing Eden Hazard in the centre or handing a rare chance to Michy Batshuayi.

Leaving top scorer Costa out of his starting line-up would be a bold move by Conte, who will replace Gary Cahill with Nathan Ake instead of Terry, and could push the 28-year-old even closer to the Stamford Bridge exit door.

The guessing games could, alternatively, be designed to spark Costa into life by making him uncertain of his place before eventually deciding to stick with him.

Whatever outcome Conte settles on, the Italian is clearly concerned by the form of Costa, who has only netted four times this year for Chelsea and has failed to score in his last six outings.