Chelsea Predicted Lineup vs Leicester City

This is a Chelsea predicted lineup for their Premier League clash with Leicester City in the Enzo Maresca derby. The Blues are attempting to win their third match in a row after expected victories over Copenhagen and Southampton. With matches coming thick and fast that will have to factor in to the manager’s thinking.

Chelsea Predicted Lineup vs Leicester in Premier League Clash

How Chelsea Have Lined up Recently

Filip Jorgensen is the regular league goalkeeper with Rob Sanchez coming in for cup or European ties. Malo Gusto has played at both right and left back, Marc Cucurella has played left back, Trevoh Chalobah can play as a centre back or right back, while the middle spots are shared between Chalobah, Levi Colwill, Tosin Adarabioyo, and a returning Benoit Badiashile.

Moises Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, and Reece James have played in the middle of the park as defensive-focused midfielders. The attacking four has been limited due to numbers with Cole Palmer, Pedro Neto, Christopher Nkunku, Jadon Sancho, and Tyrique George operating there.

Neto has been playing as a false nine but was replaced by Shim Mheuka in the Conference League on Thursday.

Chelsea Recent Form and Tactics

Maresca has usually used a 4-2-3-1 into a 3-2-4-1 this term but he has lately made a tweak to something resembling a 4-3-3 at times with more standard use of full-backs instead of having one invert. This system appears designed to push James into midfield alongside Caicedo to free up someone like Enzo to foray forward. This also allows Palmer some more freedom to operate from the right or centrally with a full back helping.

A slightly more promising performance against Aston Villa has provided a launch pad for back-to-back wins to ease the slump that started around Christmas time. With a completely split four wins and four defeats from eight, things are still mixed for the Blues, largely due to their poor defensive record. They’ve barely managed to keep any clean sheets this season and even conceded one to a defensive Copenhagen side.

Chelsea Injuries to Consider

A number of the recent injury doubts have returned to the squad over recent games with only Romeo Lavia still being a doubt. Nicolas Jackson, Noni Madueke, and Marc Guiu are not expected back before the international break while Mykhaolo Mudryk remains suspended. Gusto went over early against Copenhagen with no update yet on his fitness.