It’s been a bit of a chaotic pre-season for Enzo Maresca who has had very little time to sort out a proper starting eleven. Between new signings, late arrivals, and international tournaments this Chelsea predicted lineup for 2024/25 might be the toughest one yet. Let’s try and make sense of the madness and nail down a proper starting lineup.
Chelsea Predicted Lineup for 2024/25 Campaign
Goalkeeping Options
While Djordje Petrovic ended last season as the primary option between the sticks, he hasn’t featured much in pre-season with Robert Sanchez instead receiving the bulk of the minutes. The former Brighton man appears to be the main hopes of the goalkeeping department and the ownership but he was dropped once and he’ll likely be dropped again.
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New signing Filip Jorgensen was impressive at Villarreal last season. While he hasn’t made many appearances yet he’s likely still acclimatising to a new club and tactical system. From what we have seen so far, he’s a much better fit as a sweeper keeper, passing-first style player that Maresca favours and will likely be the first choice by the time we hit May.
Starting GK: Filip Jorgensen
Defence
This might be the hardest section to narrow down as the Blues have utilised a few different setups so far and don’t seem to have settled on one. The inverted full-back and back-three setup does favour some players more than others. That said, the clash with Inter saw Chelsea use a more traditional back four with Malo Gusto and Marc Cucurella often offering width instead of tucking inside.
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The additional question marks of which centre-back combination works best make the task of selecting a primary starting defence almost impossible. That said, Cucurella and Reece James are most likely to feature as wide-backs due to their versatility.
It may not stay this way, but the young duo of Levi Colwill and Wesley Fofana will probably start the campaign as the main CBs due to Colwill’s strong left-foot and passing skills.
Starting Back Four: Marc Cucurella, Levi Colwill, Wesley Fofana, Reece James
Midfield
If you thought the last heading was chaos, the middle of the park is absolutely stacked at Chelsea. The versatility of the tactics on display means that Christopher Nkunku or Cole Palmer could occupy one of the spots as well as the usual candidates of Enzo Fernandez, Romeo Lavia, and Moises Caicedo.
It is Lavia who has received a lot of attention in pre-season, operating as the deepest midfielder to make the best use of his passing abilities. He is likely to operate as the main DM for the term.
Starting DM: Romeo Lavia
Beyond that is where the headaches start. There’s no clear way to fit in all of the talent on hand, especially new signing Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. This could be one situation that alternates based on the opponent and the availability of players.
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Fernandez operates best when he can unlock defences with his passing range. Maresca could utilize him against most teams while switching him out for Nkunku to operate as more of a CAM against bigger teams, ot vice versa.
Starting CM/CAM: Enzo Fernandez/Christopher Nkunku
The last spot is almost always going to go to Caicedo. Whether he needs to be more of a natural CM or drop deeper to play in a double pivot to help play out of a press, his versatility and skills make him the perfect partner for most of the available options.
Starting CM/DM: Moises Caicedo
Wingers
Up until last week this looked like a real hodgepodge area with both Mykhailo Mudryk and Raheem Sterling failing to impress out on the left. Noni Madueke made his impact known on the right but the looming shadow of Palmer was always there.
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After the friendly against Inter, things are more clear. Palmer will likely retain his spot on the right from last season, but instead of staying wide like Madueke does, he’s given license to drift inside with the full-back instead pushing up to offer width. It’s admittedly a clever tweak from the new manager, one that should give some optimism to fans that he can change plans to fit in his best eleven.
On the left, Pedro Neto was unveiled at Stamford Bridge and offers a solution. The Portuguese attacker has played all across the frontline during his career but should provide a reliably option on the left wing, when he’s fit that is.
Starting Wingers: Pedro Neto, Cole Palmer
Striker
This is the one position that still has major question marks as of this writing. Nicolas Jackson missed most of pre-season with an injury suffered on international duty. Nkunku was trialled as a striker but didn’t impress, meanwhile young Marc Guiu has been impressive but only has one goal to show for it.
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Beyond that, the transfer rumours continue to swirl with Samu Omorodion’s move reportedly called off. Meanwhile, the chess match with Napoli for Victor Osimhen promises to rage on until the window closes.
As of now, young Guiu has a chance to play until moves are made or others find fitness but most would expect Jackson to eventually reclaim the starting spot.
Starting Striker: Nicolas Jackson
Chelsea Predicted Lineup for 2024/25
Despite the uncertainty and room for some more transfers, the current projected eleven is set up for either a 4-3-3 or occasionally a 4-2-3-1:
GK – Filip Jorgenson
LB – Marc Cucurella
CB – Levi Colwill
CB – Wesley Fofana
RB – Reece James
DM – Romeo Lavia
CM/DM – Moises Caicedo
CM/AM – Enzo Fernandez/Christopher Nkunku
LW – Pedro Neto
ST – Nicolas Jackson
RW – Cole Palmer
