Predicted Chelsea team vs Tottenham – Thiago Silva returns as Graham Potter corrects mistakes
Predicted Chelsea team vs Tottenham – Thiago Silva returns as Graham Potter corrects mistakes.
Chelsea predicted XI against Tottenham has been reviewed and Graham Potter seems to have corrected his previous mistakes and with Thiago Silva back in the squad too.
The speculation over Potter’s position will only increase if defeat is suffered against bitter rivals Tottenham Hotspur this afternoon.
“We need a strong performance and we need three points,” Potter said at his pre-match press conference. “It’s a fantastic game. I’ll be missing Antonio [Conte] and I wish him a speedy recovery. It’s a game we’re really looking forward to, training has been really good, the response from the players has been really good. So we’re looking forward to the game.”
There will be absentees for the trip. Edouard Mendy remains sidelined having undergone surgery on a fractured finger last month and Cesar Azpilicueta isn’t expected to return after being knocked out against Southampton.
N’Golo Kante and Christian Pulisic are stepping up their respective recoveries but will not feature against Tottenham. Armando Broja (knee) is also ruled out.
Kepa Arrizabalaga has performed well this season after re-establishing himself as Chelsea’s first-choice goalkeeper; the Spaniard has conceded 6.8 few goals than expected based on the quality of shots he has faced. He will again be between the posts at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Potter made a mistake rotating heavily against Southampton, even if the logic was to avoid overloading key players.
Against Spurs, Reece James is expected to return as right-back while Thiago Silva should come into the side in place of Kalidou Koulibaly and manage the backline.
Potter may well go with Zakaria, who hasn’t featured since hobbling off with a thigh injury against Fulham last month. The Switzerland international impressed against Manchester City and his skill set would complement that of Fernandez.
Raheem Sterling was one of the few players to come out last weekend’s defeat to Southampton with any credit, so he should start on the right flank. Joao Felix would then continue in his free role behind the striker and Mykhailo Mudryk could come in for Mason Mount on the left.
David Datro Fofana started last time out and produced a couple of noteworthy moments. However, Chelsea performed better with Kai Havertz leading the attack and the German is expected to start as the number nine once again.
Predicted Chelsea team: Kepa; James, Silva, Badiashile, Chilwell; Fernandez, Zakaria; Sterling, Felix, Mudryk; Havertz
