Chilwell And Azplicueta To Start, Koulibaly And Gallagher Out: Chelsea’s Predicted XI To Face Leicester

David Tully

2 years ago

Categories: Chelsea News, Galleries, Match Previews

Chelsea suffered a very disappointing defeat to Leeds last weekend. The result was all the more surprising, considering they had played very well against Tottenham a week before.

The Blues actually started quite promisingly at Elland Road but Edouard Mendy’s mistake was the turning point and Thomas Tuchel’s men couldn’t regain control of the match after the opening goal.

Leicester are Chelsea’s next opponents, and it could be the ideal game to recover from the disappointing display versus Leeds, with the Foxes having picked up just one point from their first three fixtures.

Press the next page as we name our starting lineup for the match at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.

GK – Edouard Mendy

There can be no excuses for the Senegalese international’s part in Leeds’s first goal. He dallied on the ball, and his hesitation cost his team severely.

At the moment, there is no suggestion that Tuchel will drop Mendy for Kepa, but he needs to buck up his ideas soon.

RWB – Reece James

Tuchel has persisted with using the 22-year-old in the back three but he is clearly more comfortable playing as a wingback, so he is expected to revert to that position against Leicester.

James will be disappointed with his failure to mark Rodrigo for Leeds’ second goal. He can’t afford such lapses of concentration at the top level, and he will need to keep track of Harvey Barnes this weekend.

CB – Cesar Azpilicueta

Didn’t really have much of a role against Leeds so his lack of involvement may help him in terms of his chances of being recalled to the starting lineup.

Kalidou Koulibaly’s suspension also means that there will have to be a reshuffle in the back three anyway and Azpilicueta is the one who is the likeliest to benefit.

CB – Thiago Silva

The Brazilian stalwart was not at fault for any of the three goals but he was seen arguing with Reece James, forcing captain Jorginho to intervene.

Obviously, Silva felt that standards weren’t being met by some of his teammates, which was undoubtedly true considering they conceded three times. The 37-year-old will be hoping that he doesn’t need to raise his voice quite as often versus the Foxes.

CB – Marc Cucurella

Koulibaly’s suspension may mean that the Spaniard is moved into the three-man defence, allowing Ben Chilwell to start in his customary left wingback role.

Cucurella played a fair few games as a left-sided centre-half for Brighton last season so he shouldn’t have any issues playing there on Saturday.

LWB – Ben Chilwell

Cucurella’s arrival means Chilwell will have to fight hard to ensure he gets first-team opportunities this season, especially as he is still suffering some effects from his lengthy injury layoff.

The England international will likely relish coming up against his former club this weekend, though, and he should get some joy on the left flank.

CM – Ruben Loftus-Cheek

Conor Gallagher struggled massively on his first start for the club at Elland Road and manager Thomas Tuchel may not select him in midfield again anytime soon.

Loftus-Cheek could be asked to switch from wingback to fill the void, although a lot depends on the fitness of Mateo Kovacic and whether he is ready for selection.

CM – Jorginho

The Italian finds the going tough when he is pressed by opponents and, without the protection of someone like N’Golo Kante, his lack of pace can be exposed.

Against Leeds, Jorginho was very poor, but the lack of options in midfield may mean that Tuchel will start him again this weekend.

RW – Mason Mount

The England international was pretty anonymous versus Leeds, but you can’t see him being dropped, mainly because Tuchel doesn’t trust the alternatives in his position.

Mount should get more joy against Leicester, though, especially if they deploy a back three like they did in the 4-2 defeat to Arsenal a couple of weeks ago.

CF – Kai Havertz

The German was one of the worst performers on the field but, there are a couple of reasons why he will continue to start games for now.

Firstly, Armando Broja was injured for the trip to Elland Road so he isn’t going to be fit enough to start on Saturday. Also, a new striker is likely to be brought in before the transfer deadline but he isn’t expected to be available for the weekend.

LW – Raheem Sterling

The 27-year-old missed a golden chance early on last week, and he had another goal disallowed for offside, so he was involved in the game.

However, Sterling can’t do everything himself and the lack of support from the likes of Havertz and Mount curtailed his efforts in the final third. He will be looking for more help versus the Foxes.