Werner And Christensen To Start, Havertz Out: Chelsea’s Predicted XI To Face Juventus

David Tully

2 years ago

Categories: Chelsea News, Galleries, Match Previews

Tags: Andreas Christensen, Chelsea, Juventus, Kai Havertz, timo werner

After Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel confirmed that Kai Havertz could be sidelined for the clash against Juventus this evening with a hamstring injury, there is now a dilemma over who will play up front.

Romelu Lukaku is not fit enough to start and may not even make the bench, while Timo Werner has only recently recovered from his own hamstring problem.

Tuchel is known for being creative with his selection decisions, though, so we shall see what he comes up with as the Blues look to confirm their progress to the last 16 of the Champions League.

Press the next page as we predict what Chelsea’s starting eleven may look like tonight.

GK – Edouard Mendy

Had one decent save to make in the second half of the Leicester game, tipping a powerful long-range effort from Daniel Amartey over the bar, but other than that, Mendy was largely untroubled.

The 29-year-old will be expecting a slightly busier evening against Juventus but he will be looking to keep yet another clean sheet.

RWB – Reece James

The 21-year-old can’t put a foot wrong at the moment, and he grabbed himself another assist for N’Golo Kante’s goal at the King Power Stadium on Saturday.

James turned away from trouble on the right flank before sprinting away and offloading the ball to Kante, who did the rest. He didn’t have much to do defensively against Leicester but he will need to keep an eye on Adrien Rabiot and Federico Chiesa tonight.

CB – Andreas Christensen

Trevoh Chalobah was superb against Leicester but, while he may become a regular starter soon, Tuchel hasn’t decided to pick him in the big games so far.

With that in mind, you would expect Christensen to be recalled for the Juve clash, but the Dane will need to put in a good performance with Chalobah biting at his heels.

CB – Thiago Silva

The Brazilian veteran was imperious at the weekend and, while playing twice in the space of four days isn’t ideal, Tuchel will want his experience for this one.

There is a possibility that Christensen could come in for Silva, with Chalobah keeping his place, but you would think that would be a gamble for such a high-profile match.

CB – Antonio Rudiger

Tuchel has reiterated his hope that Rudiger will sign a contract extension, and on his recent performances, he is certainly deserving of a new deal.

However, the longer things go on without an agreement, the less likely it looks that he will stay. The 28-year-old has been excellent over the last twelve months and his strong defensive performances will be key to success both domestically and in Europe this season.

LWB – Ben Chilwell

Got himself an assist at the King Power by delivering the corner for Rudiger’s opening goal and he is playing a vital role (along with James) in creating chances for the Blues.

Chilwell will be looking to get the better of Juan Cuadrado tonight. The former Chelsea player regularly starts as Juve’s right-wingback.

CM – Jorginho

There was a minor injury scare when the Italian was taken off with 15 minutes to go against the Foxes but he has been passed fit to start.

Jorginho had one of his least effective games of the season in the reverse fixture back in September and he will be looking to put that right this evening.

CM – N’Golo Kante

The France international was back at the top of his game against his former club, commanding the midfield, as well as getting on the scoresheet with an excellent solo goal.

Kante’s energy and dynamism will be crucial if Chelsea are to secure the result they need at Stamford Bridge tonight.

RW – Mason Mount

The 22-year-old only lasted an hour at the King Power, having not really had much of an impact on the game, so there is a chance that Hakim Ziyech will be recalled ahead of him.

However, Tuchel likes the work rate that Mount offers the team and he will be looking for the midfielder to bring that to the party against Juventus.

CF – Timo Werner

As we have already mentioned, the fitness issues for Havertz and Lukaku mean that Tuchel may be forced into starting Werner earlier than he might have liked.

If the German can last an hour then that would be ideal, but it remains to be seen whether he can play for that long, considering he hasn’t played a minute of football for just over a month.

LW – Callum Hudson-Odoi

Christian Pulisic’s goal against Leicester means the American international is pushing for a start but Hudson-Odoi did enough at the weekend to suggest he will keep his place for the time being.

The 20-year-old does, though, need to improve his contributions in front of goal, having scored just once in 12 appearances so far this campaign.