Sarr, Loftus Cheek, Niguez And Ziyech To Start, Mount On The Bench: Chelsea’s Predicted XI To Face Southampton

David Tully

3 years ago

Categories: Chelsea News, Galleries, Match Previews

Tags: Chelsea, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Saul Niguez, Southampton

Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has confirmed that he will make a lot of changes for tonight’s Carabao Cup fourth-round tie against Southampton.

With the game being at Stamford Bridge, it does lend itself to some squad rotation and it’s expected that only a few players who started the win over Norwich will be involved.

It means those on the fringes of the first team will likely be given chances to stake a claim for more game time, and it will be interesting to see who takes their opportunity.

Press the next page as we predict Chelsea’s starting eleven for the match this evening.

GK – Kepa Arrizabalaga

The Spaniard has been solid when called upon this season, but Edouard Mendy’s outstanding form means he won’t get much of a look-in for Premier League or Champions League games.

Kepa is expected to get a runout tonight, though, and he will be hoping for a quiet evening so the Blues can progress to the quarter-finals.

RWB – Cesar Azpilicueta

The Spaniard was, somewhat surprisingly, an unused substitute for the 7-0 thumping against Norwich at the weekend, so he is likely to start versus the Saints.

Tuchel has employed Azpilicueta more often than not as a wingback this campaign so that is likely where he will be selected tonight.

CB – Trevoh Chalobah

The 22-year-old hardly broke a sweat on Saturday with Norwich rarely posing a threat so he could be in line for a second consecutive start.

Chalobah has been extremely reliable when called upon by Tuchel and the centre-back will undoubtedly put in another shift this evening.

CB – Andreas Christensen

The Danish international is expected to replace Thiago Silva, with the 37-year-old needing to rest his legs ahead of Saturday’s match against Newcastle.

Christensen has been outstanding this season, and he is particularly strong when asked to play in the middle of the back three.

CB – Malang Sarr

Although Tuchel rarely rests Antonio Rudiger as he feels he doesn’t have many other options for the left-sided centre-half role, Sarr showed he is up to the task when his teammate was injured for the Brentford clash.

The Frenchman has had an odd start to his career at Stamford Bridge. His first season was spent out on loan at Porto, where he struggled for game time, and he is now a bit-part player for the Blues. Hopefully, he impresses once again tonight.

LWB – Marcos Alonso

Ben Chilwell has been in superb form recently but Alonso has also had a very bright start to the campaign, and Tuchel will be delighted he has two strong left-wingbacks to choose from.

After a lack of minutes recently, you would anticipate Alonso coming back into the starting lineup to face Southampton.

CM – Ruben Loftus-Cheek

After being one of the best players on the pitch versus Brentford, it was surprising that the 25-year-old was named on the bench for the matches against Malmo and Norwich.

Loftus-Cheek will likely be recalled this evening and he will want to prove a point to his manager ahead of the Newcastle fixture.

CM – Saul Niguez

Nobody would have guessed that the Spanish international would be used so sparingly by Tuchel but he simply hasn’t shown enough so far to merit inclusion on a more regular basis.

After starting against Aston Villa in the last round of the Carabao Cup, Niguez is expected to be named in the eleven tonight.

RW – Hakim Ziyech

Tuchel has had a thing or two to say about the Moroccan recently, questioning his form, and this is the match where the winger can prove to his manager that he deserves to be starting more matches.

Ziyech’s time at Chelsea has been peppered with injuries and we have only really seen flashes of quality from him over the past year.

CF – Kai Havertz

With both Timo Werner and Romelu Lukaku having been ruled out for this game, Havertz is the only option that Chelsea have to play at centre forward.

The German didn’t do particularly well against Norwich and he will be looking to get back to his best if he starts again this evening.

LW – Callum Hudson-Odoi

Tuchel has been praising the 20-year-old in recent days. With Christian Pulisic still injured and Mason Mount unlikely to start, the winger may be given another chance tonight.

Hudson-Odoi was excellent at the weekend and he will be hoping to impress once more against Southampton.