James, Niguez And Pulisic To Start, Alonso And Kante Out: Chelsea’s Predicted XI To Face Real Madrid

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2 years ago

Categories: Chelsea News, Galleries, Match Previews

Tags: Chelsea, Christian Pulisic, Real Madrid, Reece James, Saul Niguez

Chelsea were all over the place against Brentford and manager Thomas Tuchel will be hoping that the shock defeat is merely a blip ahead of the Champions League quarter-final tie against Real Madrid.

You can bet that the German will be switching to a 3-4-3 for this game, with Brentford having exposed the back four on a number of occasions at the weekend.

Marcos Alonso was awful playing as a left-back, while they didn’t get much protection from midfield with N’Golo Kante off his game. With that in mind, there will be a fair few changes tomorrow.

Press the next page as we predict Chelsea’s starting lineup to face Real at Stamford Bridge.

GK – Edouard Mendy

The Senegalese international wasn’t his usual self against the Bees, nearly gifting a goal to Ivan Toney in the first half. He couldn’t really do much with the four goals that were conceded, though.

Mendy will be hoping for a much quieter evening tomorrow, with the Blues’ defence hopefully back on song to keep out the likes of Karim Benzema.

RWB – Reece James

Vinicius Jnr will be the major threat on the left flank for Real, so Tuchel may need to turn to James, despite the fullback only recently returning to full fitness.

Cesar Azpilicueta does have the experience to deal with tricky wingers but Vinicius’s lightning pace means he could be left exposed on the counter-attack.

CB – Andreas Christensen

The Danish international was back on the bench against Brentford after missing the Middlesbrough game before the international break due to injury.

Considering Christensen started the wins against Norwich and Newcastle, he may well be recalled to the starting eleven tomorrow night.

CB – Thiago Silva

The Brazilian was out of sorts against Brentford and, while some have blamed fatigue due to international fixtures, he didn’t play in Brazil’s last game against Bolivia.

It’s probably best to disregard it as an aberration, especially considering how good Silva has been in the middle of the defence for the Blues this season.

CB – Antonio Rudiger

The German scored a spectacular opening goal on Saturday but he was at fault for two of Brentford’s goals. He let Vitaly Janelt run off him for the Bees to score their third, and he failed to clear his lines before Yoane Wissa wrapped up the game with the fourth.

If Rudiger makes similar mistakes against Real, he will be punished severely by the likes of Benzema. The centre-back needs to refocus quickly.

LWB – Saul Niguez

Marcos Alonso is not a left-back. That is a fact and yet managers, even ones as good as Tuchel, have picked him to start there, despite being consistently exposed.

Poor both in and out of possession versus the Bees, he may well be benched in favour of Saul Niguez tomorrow, with the Spaniard showing he can do a solid enough job as a wingback.

CM – Mateo Kovacic

N’Golo Kante’s form this calendar year has been pretty erratic, and he was rather poor at the weekend, so the Frenchman could be taken out of the firing line for the Real game.

Neither Kovavic nor Jorginho started on Saturday so the Croatian is likely to be recalled. His dynamism on the ball could well trouble the ageing midfield pair of Luka Modric and Toni Kroos.

CM – Jorginho

The Blues lacked control in midfield against Brentford, and the Italian will hopefully bring a sense of calmness to proceedings if he comes back into the lineup against Real.

Jorginho prefers the slower pace of European matches and you would think that this is the sort of match he will be able to play his natural game in.

RW – Mason Mount

This is a toss-up between Hakim Ziyech and the England international. Neither were great at the weekend but Mount could cause some problems in between the lines for Real.

The 23-year-old’s energy and willingness to press may also help Chelsea get off to a good start tomorrow, which will be needed after their struggles against Brentford.

CF – Kai Havertz

Havertz was probably the only player to come out with any credit from Saturday’s match and, with that in mind, you would have to think that Tuchel will keep faith with him.

It would be a big call to leave out club-record signing Romelu Lukaku, but Tuchel has been making a habit of it recently.

LW – Christian Pulisic

The American was not in the matchday squad for the Brentford defeat due to jet leg, but he should have recovered enough of his fitness to start against Real.

Pulisic has been in decent form, and he will be looking to trouble a defence that recently conceded four goals versus Barcelona.