Chelsea Predicted XI vs Porto: Still tested and proven 3-4-3

Callum Hudson-Odoi (No. 20) Right wing back, England

Hudson-Odoi didn’t make an appearance against West Brom, and there’s more than enough reason to assume it was because he was being kept fresh for Porto. Chelsea coasted the Round of 16 fairly comfortably and didn’t concede a single goal in the tie. Hudson-Odoi will likely start at wing back again to be able to accommodate more attacking players. Hudson-Odoi’s electric pace and quick feet would help the Blues. The Blues would need to be resilient as Porto have shown that being favorites for a tie can be a non-factor. The embarrassment at the Bridge notwithstanding, the Blues should have enough about them, to comfortably get past Porto.

Jorginho (No. 5) Central midfielder, Italy

Many have decided to blame Jorginho, not just for his errors, but for Silva’s errors as well. Jorginho didn’t play well at all. This wasn’t helped by the fact that Chelsea played with 10 men for the majority of the game. That’s not an excuse to lose to West Brom though, let alone 5-2. Tuchel and the team would recognize that it was a bad day out and they’d work on all the things that went wrong. Jorginho should get a chance to show that he learnt from that performance. N’Golo Kante is likely still injured and will be out of contention. Jorginho will have to put that shambolic performance behind him and focus on the Champions League quarterfinals.

Mateo Kovacic (No. 17) Central midfielder, Croatia

There’s a myth that Kovacic was Chelsea best player on the pitch and he was the only one trying. That is not true, Kovacic was as culpable as any other player in that game. The central midfielders are supposed to be responsible for ball retention, amongst other things. Kovacic failed in that regard, losing the ball 24 times during the match. That in itself is not so bad but considering that Kovacic created next to nothing, it emphasizes how careless Kovacic was with the ball. Everyone put in effort on the day, but they were all frantic and just trying any and everything. it’s difficult to evaluate the performances of players when their team was a man short. Tactics and game plans are built around utilizing every man available to you.

Ben Chilwell (No. 21) Left wing back, England

Chilwell has had to sit and watch Alonso start the majority of games. With Chelsea playing a man down, it was easy for West Brom to exploit Chelsea’s left channel. Alonso was Chelsea’s best goal threat and that says it all, though that wasn’t very surprising seeing as Chelsea only had two nominal attackers on the pitch. Alonso did not play well against West Brom in the sense that nobody played well against West Brom. Alonso’s channel was targeted, but that was more taking advantage of being a man up. That’s not why Alonso won’t be starting though, he played the full 90 minutes and would not be fit enough to play against Porto. Alonso has been playing well, and being unable to cover for an extra man does not automatically take him out of rotation. Chilwell has improved in the left wing back role, as he showed against Sheffield United in the FA Cup quarterfinal and he should be more than capable to make his mark against Porto in the Champions League.