James, Silva And Mudryk To Start, Mount And Koulibaly Dropped: Chelsea’s Predicted XI To Take On Spurs

Chelsea’s shock home defeat to Southampton at the weekend was pretty inexplicable.

Although the Blues have struggled for results in recent weeks, the performance against Borussia Dortmund suggested that Graham Potter was beginning to get the message across to his players.

The loss to the Saints leaves the manager fighting for his job and he needs a result against London rivals Tottenham to get back on track.

Press the next page as we name Chelsea’s starting lineup for the derby on Sunday afternoon.

GK – Kepa Arrizabalaga

Was a lot busier than he should have been last weekend, considering the Blues were facing a team rooted to the bottom of the table.

Kepa made two strong saves in both halves to deny Kamaldeen Sulemana and Adam Armstrong but he could have done slightly better with James Ward-Prowse’s freekick.

That may sound slightly harsh considering the quality of the strike, but the ball ended up in the bottom corner of the goal, suggesting Kepa didn’t move his feet quickly enough.

RB – Reece James

Potter confirmed that the fullback was rested against Southampton after playing three games in a row following a knee injury.

With captain Cesar Azpilicueta suffering a concussion at the weekend, James will almost certainly be recalled to face Spurs.

He will likely be coming up against Son Heung-min, who got a confidence-boosting goal against West Ham last Sunday, so the South Korean could be a handful.

CB – Thiago Silva

Like James, the Brazilian was taken out of the team to give him time to recover. At 38 years of age, he can’t be asked to play every few days.

Silva’s experience was badly missed in the defeat to the Saints, which shouldn’t have been the case with Kalidou Koulibaly still in the team.

However, the Senegalese international was dreadful last Saturday, and the fact that he was substituted at halftime, whilst on a booking, kind of says it all.

CB – Benoit Badiashile

Had a shaky start last weekend and his hesitation led to Sulemana’s early chance but, other than that, the Frenchman didn’t do an awful lot wrong.

Wesley Fofana did look impressive after coming on for Koulibaly in the second half but he is right-footed so Badiashile would be the favourite to partner Silva against Tottenham.

The pair have struck up a decent partnership and Potter will be keen to keep that going.

LB – Ben Chilwell

The left-back has looked impressive since returning from injury and he didn’t have a poor game against the Saints by any stretch of the imagination.

Unlike Marc Cucurella, Chilwell is comfortable playing as an attacking fullback and he gives the team more options when overlapping in the final third of the pitch.

The 26-year-old is looking sharper and sharper with every game, and it’s unlikely to be long before we see him back to his very best.

CM – Denis Zakaria

Mateo Kovacic did look pretty rusty against Southampton and, while he did get on the ball more often in the second half, he wasn’t particularly effective.

Zakaria has also recently returned from injury but he has spent the last two games on the bench, without being given any minutes by Potter.

Considering the Swiss international has looked impressive when given outings this season, he does deserve another shot in midfield.

CM – Enzo Fernandez

The Argentinian international was pretty disappointing last Saturday, which was a surprise considering that he has looked the part up until now.

Fernandez’s passing was on point as usual, but he didn’t influence proceedings enough from the centre of the pitch.

The Blues really needed someone to grab the game by the scruff of the neck and the 21-year-old didn’t step up to the plate. He will be looking to play better versus Spurs.

AM – Joao Felix

The Portuguese international is widely known to be an inconsistent performer. After standing out with his displays in previous games, he was pretty ineffective against the Saints.

Some of that was down to the lack of space that Felix was afforded but he is going to find that plenty of opponents will try to do the same thing to him.

If he is going to succeed in the Premier League, he needs to combine his speed and quickness of thought with his work rate.

RW – Raheem Sterling

While it was harsh on David Datro Fofana, replacing the Ivorian at halftime was the right thing to do last weekend, as Sterling came on and made a serious impact.

It’s fair to say that the England international has been somewhat of a disappointment since arriving from Manchester City in the summer.

However, if Sterling plays like he did in the second half against Southampton, he will win over the doubters very quickly.

ST – Kai Havertz

Fofana’s half-time substitution and the continued absence of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang suggests Havertz will be recalled for the Tottenham clash.

The German forward looked lively after replacing Mason Mount in the second half versus the Saints so you’d expect him to start on Sunday.

His inconsistent performances will continue to frustrate fans but he seems to be the best option to lead the line currently.

LW – Mykhailo Mudryk

The Ukrainian was surprisingly left out of the starting lineup by Potter last Saturday, but it was later revealed that he had been rested.

Mudryk didn’t really make an impact after coming on against the Saints and he hasn’t really set the world alight in general since arriving in January.

A lot of that is down to fitness. The winger hadn’t played a competitive match for several months before moving to Stamford Bridge so it will be hoped that the best is yet to come.