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Chelsea and Tottenham combined XI: Blues dominate the midfield

By Gabe Henderson

Chelsea's German striker Timo Werner is pictured during the pre-season friendly football match between Brighton and Hove Albion and Chelsea at the American Express Community Stadium in Brighton, southern England on August 29, 2020. - The game is a 'pilot' event where a small number of fans will be present on a socially-distanced basis. The aim is to get fans back into stadiums in the Premier League by October. (Photo by Glyn KIRK / AFP) (Photo by GLYN KIRK/AFP via Getty Images)
Chelsea's German striker Timo Werner is pictured during the pre-season friendly football match between Brighton and Hove Albion and Chelsea at the American Express Community Stadium in Brighton, southern England on August 29, 2020. - The game is a 'pilot' event where a small number of fans will be present on a socially-distanced basis. The aim is to get fans back into stadiums in the Premier League by October. (Photo by Glyn KIRK / AFP) (Photo by GLYN KIRK/AFP via Getty Images) /
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BRIGHTON, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 14: Kai Havertz of Chelsea runs with the ball during the Premier League match between Brighton & Hove Albion and Chelsea at American Express Community Stadium on September 14, 2020 in Brighton, England. (Photo by Glyn Kirk/Pool via Getty Images
BRIGHTON, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 14: Kai Havertz of Chelsea runs with the ball during the Premier League match between Brighton & Hove Albion and Chelsea at American Express Community Stadium on September 14, 2020 in Brighton, England. (Photo by Glyn Kirk/Pool via Getty Images /

Central midfielder: N’Golo Kante, Chelsea

N’Golo Kante walks into any midfield in the world on any given day, hence why he’s one of the first names on this team sheet. The Frenchman is the best defensive midfielder on the planet when healthy—which has been an issue of late—but he finally looks to put those struggles behind him. In addition to his World Cup title, he’s also taken home two Premier League trophies, an FA Cup and a Europa League. Further, Kante’s won a host of individual awards that include Premier League Player of the Season (2016/17), French Player of the Year (’17) and he has even finished within the top 12 in Ballon d’Or voting on two separate occasions (’17 & ’18).

If that’s not enough to strike fear into opposition, he’s also grown his game to include goals and assists—scoring 11 goals and helping create seven during his time in west London. No matter the midfield shape, Kante’s the first name in the middle of the park every day of the week and twice on Sunday.

Central midfielder: Mateo Kovacic, Chelsea

One of the toughest positions to choose, this one came down to Mateo Kovacic or Giovani Lo Celso. The Spurs midfielder is coming off the best season of his young career and is looking like a bona fide star in the making. However, it’s Chelsea’s 2019/20 Player of the Season who gets the nod here.

Kovacic brings with him a healthy blend of talent and experience. He’s perfect for a 4-2-3-1 and while he doesn’t produce eye-popping statistics, he’s a world class distributor in the midfield. The Croatian is crucial to Lampard’s project at Stamford Bridge, hence why he gets the edge over his Argentine counterpart.

Attacking midfielder: Kai Havertz, Chelsea

Chelsea’s joint-record signing has already announced his arrival in England with a hat-trick against Barnsley in the previous round of the Carabao Cup. He has yet to score in the Premier League, but the promising signs are there. Havertz’s already impressive start—coupled with the fact he’s one of the most talented young stars in world football—sees him included in this list without question. Havertz is the perfect combination of skill, smarts and scoring sense. The German is exactly the type of person you’d want as a No. 10 when playing with a duo in defensive midfield as he more than makes up for the lack of bodies going forward.

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