Chelsea predicted XI for Leicester: Battle of the best (of the rest)

Callum Hudson-Odoi, 20, Left wing, England

Hudson-Odoi quickly went from injured wonder kid, to Twitter declared flop, to quietly one of the team’s best performers over the last month. Mind, Chelsea’s attacking issues have coincided in part with Hudson-Odoi playing more, but that seemingly has more to do with the loss of Christian Pulisic than the introduction of Hudson-Odoi. Simply put, Hudson-Odoi makes things happen and until Pulisic returns, he will continue to do so.

Tammy Abraham, 9, Striker, England

OR

Michy Batshuayi, 23, Striker, Belgium

Sorry, yeah, bit of a cop-out, but Frank Lampard was thoroughly ambiguous about whether Tammy Abraham will be physically cleared to play. If Abraham can play, Lampard’s decision is obvious. If Abraham can’t play, Lampard’s decision is equally obvious: not Olivier Giroud, who Lampard did confirm will be staying at the club. But that is no reason to think Giroud will start playing, let alone start starting, so Batshuayi will lead the line.

Regardless of who starts at the King Power Stadium, we can expect Erling Haaland to score at least a brace for Borussia Dortmund today.

Willian, 10, Right wing, Brazil

Would it be a Chelsea transfer window if Willian were not linked to Barcelona? Mind there was little smoke and fire with the rumor, but it did happen. Maybe there is something about the Brazilian at 31 that really screams “Barcelona” but who knows.

Regardless, so long as Pulisic is out and Pedro is planning his next career move, Willian will be a Chelsea player and a starter at that.

Can Chelsea pull away from the bottom 16? Let us know in the comments and on Twitter!