Chelsea travel to Swansea this Sunday in search of their fourth Premier League win in a row. Antonio Conte’s men can be optimistic about their chances of leaving the Liberty Stadium with all three points as the hosts’ form is far from perfect.
The Welsh side has lost their last two league games, whereas Chelsea haven’t dropped a single point yet.
The Chelsea players have quickly gotten used to Conte’s tactics and requirements, so the Italian manager is unlikely to make any changes to his starting eleven.
Here is the predicted line-up Antonio Conte can opt for against Swansea.
Goalkeeper – Thibaut Courtois
The Belgium international started Chelsea’s first three games of the season and also featured in Belgium’s two games during the international break. He’s clearly Conte’s first-choice goalkeeper and will definitely keep his place in the starting eleven.
Left-back – Cesar Azpilicueta
The 27-year-old was an unused substitute in Spain’s 8-0 win over Liechtenstein on September 5th, but is an important part of Conte’s starting eleven and will surely keep his place in the team.
Central defenders – John Terry and Gary Cahill
Despite the return of David Luiz from PSG last week, Conte is likely to continue with the English duo at centre-back. Breaking up a winning team is never a good idea.
Right-back – BranislavIvanovic
The 32-year-old versatile defender has started all games so far and is likely to keep his place against Swansea, but Conte could look to play Marcos Alonso on the left and Azpilicueta in his favoured right-back role soon.
Central midfielders – N’Golo Kante and Nemanja Matic
Kante has slotted in effortlessly since moving to Stamford Bridge from Leicester City this summer and has made Chelsea’s midfield much more solid.
Matic, on the other hand, was linked with a move away all summer, but ended up staying at Chelsea and it seems like he’s recovered from his poor 2015/16 season.
Left winger – Eden Hazard
The Belgian has started the season very strongly and seems ready to remind people why he won the PFA Player of the Year award at the end of the 2014/15 season. He’s undroppable at the moment.
Attacking midfielder – Oscar
The Brazilian has been one of Conte’s main sources of creativity since the start of the season and has made the position behind Diego Costa his own.
Right winger – Willian
Willian played in Brazil’s two World Cup qualifiers against Ecuador and Colombia, but his late return to training is unlikely to cost him his starting place this Sunday as he’s been great since the start of the season.
Striker – Diego Costa
It looks like the controversial striker has gotten over the disappointment of his failed return to Atletico Madrid this summer and has started the season with great motivation and focus. He’s scored 2 goals in 3 Premier League games for Conte’s team so far and will definitely keep his place this Sunday.