The Four Selection Questions That Lampard Will Need To Answer This Weekend

Chelsea’s 7-1 win over QPR in a friendly yesterday may have provided more questions than answers for Frank Lampard ahead of the club’s return to Premier League action this weekend.

The Blues face Aston Villa in their first competitive game for three months on Sunday but the thrashing of QPR may have altered the manager’s thinking on selection.

There were braces for Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Billy Gilmour, while the likes of Willian, Mason Mount and Olivier Giroud also got on the scoresheet.

Press the next page as we consider four selection dilemmas Lampard is facing heading into the contest against Villa.

1) Who will play in midfield?

With Jorginho serving a suspension and N’Golo Kante having played just one friendly over the past few months, the make up of the midfield three will be a talking point ahead of Sunday’s game.

Gilmour is the likeliest to keep his place in the starting line up, along with Mateo Kovacic, but will Lampard start Loftus-Cheek thirteen months after his last competitive match for Chelsea?

2) Who will start at left-back?

Reece James is back fit following a slight injury scare, but Marcos Alonso was performing well before the season was suspended. Will Lampard drop the Spaniard, and move Cesar Azpilicueta to the left in order to incorporate James?

Such a move would reduce the Blues’ attacking threat from the left-hand side, but it is unlikely that the club captain would be dropped for the game at Villa Park.

3) Is the Zouma and Rudiger partnership set to stay in place?

The centre-back pairing kept two consecutive clean sheets before the campaign was called to a halt, with Lampard switching from a back three to a four-man defence.

It’s fair to say that Chelsea are unlikely to return to three at the back any time soon, but will Zouma be given the nod ahead of Andreas Christensen and Fikayo Tomori this weekend?

4) Who will start in goal?

This is probably the easiest to answer out of the four questions posed. Kepa Arrizabalaga had recovered his position in goal ahead of Willy Caballero, prior to the season’s suspension.

However, his long term future is up in the air, and the Spanish international will need to prove his worth in the final nine games in order to convince Lampard that he shouldn’t be sold.

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