The full-back limped off late in Saturday’s game against Burnley but he is keen to let the supporters know how grateful he is for the backing they have given him in his first season as a Chelsea player.

'I think it’s important to show the emotion and the energy you have if you want to create this thing we have between the fans and the group, so we can become better together,' he says in an exclusive interview that you can read in full in tonight’s matchday programme. 'That’s the emotion we all feel when we score, or when we make a defensive tackle.

'Firstly, I was very proud to hear them singing for me, and I have to say thank you to all the fans because they are very good with me and with the team.

'Every time, they are behind us and it’s very important for the group to have this type of fans. We just have to show them, with our performances on the pitch, that we are very proud to represent them. I just try to do my best every game and to show them we are Chelsea.

'It’s important for the team to finish this season strong, to become a great team all together. We are young, but we also have a lot of quality. We are Chelsea, we have to show to the fans that we play to win everything.'

The programme’s other interview subject, Gary Cahill, knows a thing or two about winning everything. Some of his most memorable matches for the Blues came against Manchester United, and he looks back on his time in west London through the lens of four crunch encounters with tonight’s opponents, not least that 4-0 win in 2016/17 that ended in words being exchanged by Antonio Conte and Jose Mourinho on the touchline.

'Now that I’m retired, I skip back to that moment and it was such a good feeling to be in the tunnel before a game when we were in that vein of form,' he says. 'If you’re not playing well, as soon as you concede a goal, you think, "Oh, here we go again". But it’s the opposite when you’re in such good form as a team. You’re stood in the tunnel thinking, "I wonder how many we’re going to win by".

'There was obviously the little moment at the end between Antonio [Conte] and Jose. Having played under both of them, and knowing the traits of both managers, that’s just the way they are. It didn’t surprise me that it flared up.

'They have similarities for me – both so passionate, both want to win at all costs, both hate losing with a passion. That’s probably why it ended up blowing up at the end of the game.

'For us players, we were playing for Antonio, which I thoroughly enjoyed, but we had loads of respect for Jose, so it was a matter of going out there, getting the result and enjoying it. A lot was made of the two managers, but it was always major when Jose came back, no matter what team he was at, because of what he did when he was at Chelsea.'

Pick up your copy of the programme tonight for the full interviews with Gusto and Cahill, as well as all the facts and opinion ahead of the big match, and the latest from elsewhere at the club. You can also order a copy online from our publications partner Reach Sport.