With Chelsea set to play Crystal Palace at home in a must-win game on Saturday, here’s how Antonio Conte’s lineup could look.
Torhüter
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Courtois13
Thibaut Courtois will start in goal, because he is Thibaut Courtois.?
Verteidigung
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Azpilicueta28
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Christensen27
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Rüdiger2
Antonio Conte seems to have preferred a back line consisting of Cesar Azpilicueta, Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger of late.
Azpilicueta has been one of the most solid defenders in the Premier League for a few years now, while Christensen has mostly been impressive since being thrust into the middle of the back three. Rudiger, meanwhile, looks a better option than an ageing Gary Cahill at the moment.
Mittelfeld
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Moses15
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Fábregas4
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Kanté7
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Alonso3
Victor Moses seems to have made the right wing-back position his own despite the arrival of Davide Zappacosta. Marcos Alonso has done just about the same, keeping his place on the left flank even with new signing Emerson Palmieri coming in.
Conte told reporters on Friday that N’Golo Kante is in perfect condition and should return to his midfield position, following his absence last weekend, while Fabregas is likely to start in spite of Tiemoue Bakayoko’s return.
Sturm
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Willian22
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Morata9
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Hazard10
Willian is Chelsea’s most in-form player right now and should be preferred over Pedro for Saturday’s match, while Conte seems to have given up experimenting with Eden Hazard as a false nine and has confirmed that either Alvaro Morata or Olivier Giroud will start up front.
It’s likely to be Morata, although the Spaniard is going through a dry spell. Meanwhile, Eden Hazard will be happy to revert to his position on the left wing after struggling as a central striker against Manchester City.
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