Chelsea’s predicted lineup against Arsenal for London Derby
Sep 24, 2016 at 11:12 AM
Chelsea are set to face their biggest test of the season so far when they play against Arsenal on Saturday in the much awaited London derby at the Emirates Stadium.
New manager Antonio Conte have done a decent job but the Blues have lost their way a little after a perfect start to the season after three match days. The Blues have exactly the opposite winning trend to that of Arsenal in the league going in to the game. While Arsenal have managed only one point in their first two games, the Blues have managed only one point in their last two Premier League games.
Chelsea however go into the match with a much needed confidence after they came down from 2-0 against Leicester City in EFL Cup tie to win the game by 4-2 in extra time. The form of Cesc Fabreagas is the biggest positive for Chelsea going into the game. However, they still remained concerned over the availability of John Terry who is still fighting against time to be fit for the match after suffering an ankle injury at Liberty Stadium two weeks ago.
Conte will be starting with the best available quality he has at his disposal as a win in the derby could change the fortunes for Chelsea. A win would boost the confidence of players who had a quiet last two weeks. Here we look at the predicted starting XI for Chelsea against Arsenal.
Thibaut Courtois is an automatic starter for the Blues as he is the No.1 at the club and Conte won’t take any different decision to choose someone else ahead of the Belgian.
With Terry still a doubt to start the game and considering the fact that he is an important defender for the manager, David Luiz might get the start while Terry could start on bench. Gary Cahill is the other centre half who is expected to partner David Luiz in the central defense.
Marco Alonso might start for the game after his impressive outing in their League cup tie against Leicester City as Branislav Ivanovic have looked out of sorts all throughout the season.
The central midfield is expected to have Cesc Fabregas as the Spaniard is in scintillating form after scoring a brace against Leicester City in favour of Oscar who looked poor at times this season.
The defensive midfield duo of Nemenja Matic and N’Golo Kante are set to start as they provide much needed cover for the defense which was often exposed by teams. Eden Hazard and Willian are expected to be the wingers as both of them have looked effective for Conte so far this season.
Diego Costa has been in fine form as he managed five goals from five Premier League games so far this season and will be the man to tackle for Arsenal defense on Saturday.
Chelsea (4-3-3): Courtois, Alonso, Luiz, Cahill, Azpilicueta, Matic, Kante, Fabregas, Hazard, Willian, Costa.