It’s an early kick-off for the Blues as we travel to take on Leeds United this Saturday lunchtime. After a convincing 2-0 victory against Everton, Chelsea will hope to continue their unbeaten run under Thomas Tuchel with another victory against the Peacocks.
Team News
Tuchel confirmed in his press conference that both Thiago Silva and Tammy Abraham are unavailable for the trip to Elland Road. The pair both pulled out of training this week and will need some time to recover. Silva’s injury is described as more of a setback in his recovery process, while Tammy is still dealing with some discomfort in his ankle.
Predicted XI
Every match in the Premier League is difficult, but Chelsea has just come through arguably their toughest run of fixtures this season. The Blues can take confidence from the way they handled this recent run of games, but they will have to keep their focus for the remainder of the season.
Against Leeds, Edouard Mendy will remain in the net. The Senegalese shot-stopper kept his professionalism in a relatively undemanding match against Everton, keeping his focus throughout.
In defence, Antonio Rudiger will return in the place of Kurt Zouma. The German defender has been in top form, and we can only assume he was left out of the Everton game due to fatigue. Accompanying him will be Andreas Christensen and Cesar Azpilicueta. The pair have also been playing very well, and all-together, this back three seems to be the only outfield position(s) that Tuchel seems completely certain with.
Ben Chilwell and Reece James will occupy the left and right wing-back positions. A rest for Callum Hudson-Odoi could be on the cards with a match against Atletico Madrid just around the corner. Likewise with Marcos Alonso, who played the full ninety-minutes against Everton.
In the middle of the park, we have N’Golo Kante and Jorginho. Yes, Jorginho played the full ninety-minutes against Everton, but the Italian is suspended for our upcoming match against Atletico Madrid. Playing Jorginho in this match would allow for Tuchel to rest Kovacic before he plays the majority of our next match. Unfortunately for N’Golo Kante, he will have to keep his recovery levels pretty high between our next two matches.
Moving on to the most unpredictable field positions, the front three, we have a plethora of options to choose from. Against Leeds, it is best to go with speed and skill in the attack. This narrows the options down a little bit. Christian Pulisic and Mason Mount are the predicted players to play behind the forward. Both players possess a mixture of speed, skill, and unpredictability. Against Leeds, there is every possibility that Tuchel will play the pair.
Up top, we have Timo Werner. We need speed, speed, and more speed. The German’s finishing has been pretty suspect this season, but he is consistently getting in goalscoring positions. Against Liverpool, we saw what his speed could do to a high back-line. Leeds plays similarly to this, and it is the hope that Werner will have just as much success at Elland Road as he did at Anfield.
Full Predicted XI
Mendy
Azpi, Christensen, Rudiger
James, Kante, Jorginho, Chilwell
Pulisic, Mount
Werner
