Chelsea Predicted Lineup vs Crystal Palace for September 1

Another Premier League matchday and another Sunday fixture for the Blues who are fresh off a 2-1 away defeat to Servette in the Europa Conference League. This is a Chelsea predicted lineup for their clash with Crystal Palace as they aim to bounce back from that loss.

Chelsea Predicted Lineup vs Crystal Palace in Premier League Tie

How Chelsea Have Lined Up Recently

There have been two separate elevens used as Enzo Maresca splits his attention between the domestic league and European competition. Robert Sanchez is the first-choice goalkeeper while Filip Jorgensen fills in on weekdays. Malo Gusto, Levi Colwill, Wesley Fofana, and Marc Cucurella make up the primary back four with Benoit Badiashile, Axel Disasi, Tosin Adarbioyo, and Renato Veiga making a back three/back four hybrid against Servette.

Enzo Fernandez, Romeo Lavia, and Moises Caicedo have played as defensive midfielders, this is either as a lone DM with a full-back inverting or as a double pivot depending on the opponent. Noni Madueke, Pedro Neto, Mykhailo Mudryk, Christopher Nkunku, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, and Cole Palmer have occupied the other midfield slots or operated as wingers.

Nicolas Jackson remains the starting striker option with Marc Guiu getting minutes off the bench or as a rotation option.

Chelsea Recent Form and Tactics

There’s been some tinkering as Maresca finds the best setup for each opponent with a 4-3-3 and 4-2-3-1 being the most common formations. These tend to shift in possession with the 4-3-3 becoming a 3-2-4-1 in the build-up as the left-back inverts and joins the lone defensive midfielder. The 4-2-3-1 was seen against Wolves and carried a massive counter-attacking threat with Palmer playing centrally and Neto pulling inside while the full-backs offered width.

Despite the tactical flexibility results haven’t been ideal. A pre-season that gained just one win has been followed up by two victories and two defeats to start the regular campaign. Despite advancing to the next round, the loss to Servette should serve as a reminder that this is still a work in progress for both the squad and the coach.

What’s really stark is the defensive frailty, the midfield is far too easy to cut through and leaves the defence exposed which is evident as the Blues have conceded twice in three of their four fixtures. They also shipped four to Celtic and Manchester City in pre-season, so this isn’t a new issue.

Chelsea Injuries to Consider

Lavia and Reece James have been ruled out until after the international break by Maresca. Gusto and Neto weren’t in the squad for the Conference League tie on Thursday but the Portugal international could just be under a load management restriction. The French defender wasn’t seen training and wasn’t called up by France so he could have a bigger issue but as of now there’s nothing official on his status.

Chelsea Predicted Lineup vs Crystal Palace

GK – Robert Sanchez

LB – Marc Cucurella

CB – Levi Colwill

CB – Wesley Fofana

RB – Malo Gusto

DM – Enzo Fernandez

DM – Moises Caicedo

AM – Joao Felix

W – Pedro Neto

W – Cole Palmer

ST – Nicolas Jackson

Alex Richards, LWOF Editor

An experienced football writer, Alex is also a long-time wrestling and gaming writer. He brings lifelong experience and passion for both mediums to his writing. He aims to cover each with niche accurately and thoroughly.