Broja, Fofana And Kepa To Start, Mendy And Aubameyang On The Bench: Chelsea’s Predicted XI To Play Palace

Content Editor

2 years ago

Categories: Chelsea News, Galleries, Match Previews

Tags: Chelsea, Edouard Mendy, Graham Potter, Kepa Arrizabalaga

Chelsea manager Graham Potter is likely to keep fans guessing with his selection choices this season so predicting his starting eleven to face Crystal Palace this weekend won’t be easy!

His formation against Red Bull Salzburg was pretty much 3-5-1-1 without the ball, with it effectively becoming a 3-1-6 in possession.

Whether he sticks with the same formula against Palace, we shall have to wait and see, but we have decided to use the system for our lineup.

Press the next page to find out who will start for Chelsea at Selhurst Park on Saturday afternoon.

GK – Kepa Arrizabalaga

The Spaniard is better with his feet than Mendy and, considering playing out from the back is a key part of his philosophy, Potter may keep faith with Kepa for now.

Mendy is back training, following a knee injury, but he may have to settle for a place on the bench for the game against the Eagles.

RWB – Reece James

The 22-year-old is likely to play A LOT between now and the World Cup, with Potter having specific requirements for his wingbacks. James’ attributes are ideally suited to the role.

There have been reports that Ruben Loftus-Cheek has also been training in the position, which suggests he may well be James’ principal backup.

CB – Wesley Fofana

Potter went with experience by selecting captain Cesar Azpllicueta against Salzburg ahead of the £70m summer signing, but the veteran Spaniard isn’t in great form.

Fofana has played in a back three at Leicester so you can’t see him having many problems playing as the right-sided centre-back.

CB – Thiago Silva

Potter won’t be happy that the 38-year-old played the full 90 minutes for Brazil in a friendly on Tuesday night, so there is a doubt over whether he’ll start this weekend.

Silva needs recovery time and the long-haul flight back won’t help matters. Nonetheless, we’re backing the veteran defender to be fit.

CB – Kalidou Koulibaly

With Marc Cucurella ruled out through illness, it’s likely that the Senegalese international will be recalled to the starting lineup after being benched for Potter’s first match in charge.

Koulibaly has had a difficult start to life in England but he will be keen to impress his new manager against the Eagles.

LWB – Raheem Sterling

Ostensibly, the 27-year-old was selected as a wingback versus Salzburg, but the cover provided by Cucurella and Mateo Kovacic meant he was allowed to play more as a winger.

Sterling said he enjoyed playing in the position, and his goal in the 1-1 draw last time out suggests he could adapt well to playing in a slightly unorthodox role on the left flank.

CM – Mason Mount

It looks as though the England international will be playing slightly deeper under Potter, as part of a three-man midfield, but he may still be given more license than the likes of Jorginho and Kovacic to get forward.

Mount will be asked to link up a lot with Reece James, and the pair do look like they already have an understanding with each other based on the Salzburg game.

DM – Jorginho

The Italian will be much happier playing as part of a midfield three, and his distribution means he is very suited to the deep-lying playmaking role.

Jorginho has a huge responsibility when playing out from the back, coming deep to receive possession before beginning the attack with an accurate diagonal or forward pass.

CM – Mateo Kovacic

Potter requires his midfielders to cover plenty of ground because of how fluid his system is, and Kovacic is a perfect player for the Chelsea boss.

Kovacic will be a prominent figure in the coming months if he stays fit and, along with N’Golo Kante, the pair will have to adapt the most to how Potter wants to play.

AM – Kai Havertz

As we have already mentioned in an article this week, it remains to be seen whether the German is that effective as a number 10. While he performed well in the role for Germany against England on Monday, he was on the periphery when Chelsea faced Salzburg.

One of the reasons why Chelsea looked so blunt in the final third against the Austrian side was because Havertz did not get involved as much as Potter would have liked. That will need to change.

ST- Armando Broja

To be perfectly frank, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is not a Potter-type forward. He needs a striker to run into the channels and create space for others, but that isn’t the 33-year-old’s game anymore.

Potter is known to have been impressed by Broja in training over the past couple of weeks so there is a good chance that he will start against Palace on Saturday.