Anjorin And Gilmour To Start, Lawrence On The Bench: Chelsea’s Predicted XI To Face Morecambe

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3 years ago

Categories: Chelsea News, Galleries, Match Previews

Tags: Billy Gilmour, Chelsea, Henry Lawrence, Tino Anjorin

Chelsea will probably rotate heavily for Sunday’s FA Cup third-round clash against Morecambe despite a disappointing result versus Manchester City last time out.

The Blues should have enough depth in their squad to beat a League Two side, so anything other than a decent win would put more pressure on manager Frank Lampard.

You would expect Chelsea to select a similar team to the one that started the Champions League dead rubber against FC Krasnodar last month, with perhaps a few more youngsters on the bench,

Press the next page as we go through our predicted lineup for this weekend’s game.

GK – Kepa Arrizabalaga

The Spaniard has only played in one match since being replaced by Edouard Mendy as the club’s number one and it does appear he is on borrowed time at Stamford Bridge.

Kepa will be hoping to, at least, get a clean sheet against Morecambe, with the shot-stopper expecting a quiet afternoon.

RB – Cesar Azpilicueta

Henry Lawrence is training with the first-team squad ahead of this game but, even though Reece James is sidelined, Azpilicueta is still favourite to start this weekend.

Chelsea play their next game against Fulham next Friday so there will be a good five days for the Spaniard to recover.

CB – Fikayo Tomori

His inclusion will be up for debate, considering he has been heavily linked with a loan move away from the Blues, but he could be selected to start by Lampard.

Especially with Andreas Christensen sidelined with a knee injury, Tomori is next in line in terms of the centre-back pecking order.

CB – Antonio Rudiger

The German international has invariably been utilised in cup competitions by Lampard, as well as the odd Premier League fixture when Thiago Silva has been rested.

With the Brazilian expected to be given the weekend off, Rudiger looks set to start in the centre of defence.

LB – Emerson Palmieri

With Marcos Alonso having not been seen since his awful performance against West Brom earlier this season, Emerson is now very much established as Ben Chilwell’s understudy.

The Italian international usually does a solid enough job defensively but his lack of creativity in the final third means he firmly remains Lampard’s backup option.

CM – Billy Gilmour

The Scotland Under 21 international has played in more advanced positions during his most recent appearances for Chelsea and that is likely to continue against Morecambe.

With the likes of Mateo Kovacic and N’Golo Kante currently struggling for form, Gilmour may use this as an audition for a starting berth against Fulham.

DM – Jorginho

With the Blues expected to have all the possession, it makes sense to start the playmaker in his customary holding midfield role on Sunday.

Jorginho needs to up the tempo, though, as Morecambe will sit deep and it will be up to the Italian international to dictate the game and ensure they get in behind their opponents.

CM – Kai Havertz

Having been benched for recent league games, it has hardly been the start that many fans would have imagined to the German’s career in England.

Lampard has cited the long-term effects that picking up the virus has had on Havertz, and that has undoubtedly impacted his performances, but he should get a start this weekend.

RW – Callum Hudson-Odoi

Having been overlooked for the starting eleven by Lampard for the City game, he came on and showed what he can do by scoring the consolation in the 3-1 defeat.

Hudson-Odoi will be determined to show that he is deserving of more game time in the Premier League with a good showing versus Morecambe.

CF – Tammy Abraham

After being an unused substitute for the last two games, the 23-year-old may feel harshly treated after scoring against West Ham and Arsenal.

Lampard may recall Abraham for the FA Cup clash, although Olivier Giroud will also be in contention to start this match.

LW – Tino Anjorin

The teenager played 80 minutes against FC Krasnodar last month, and he’ll certainly be a candidate to start against Morecambe after training with the Chelsea squad this week.

Anjorin does generally like to play through the middle but he can also be impressive playing off the left-wing.