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Chelsea: Three things to look for against Crystal Palace

By Vansh Ambashta

LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 07: Cesar Azpilicueta of Chelsea and Jordan Ayew of Crystal Palace battle for the ball during the Premier League match between Crystal Palace and Chelsea FC at Selhurst Park on July 07, 2020 in London, England. Football Stadiums around Europe remain empty due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in all fixtures being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Justin Tallis/Pool via Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 07: Cesar Azpilicueta of Chelsea and Jordan Ayew of Crystal Palace battle for the ball during the Premier League match between Crystal Palace and Chelsea FC at Selhurst Park on July 07, 2020 in London, England. Football Stadiums around Europe remain empty due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in all fixtures being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Justin Tallis/Pool via Getty Images) /
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LONDON, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 28: Andreas Christensen of Chelsea in action during the Premier League match between Chelsea and Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge on December 28, 2020 in London, England. (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 28: Andreas Christensen of Chelsea in action during the Premier League match between Chelsea and Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge on December 28, 2020 in London, England. (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images) /

2. Starting Defenders

Chelsea had a nightmare game against West Brom. Everything went wrong, and the Blues were just completely outplayed, even if they had ten men. Thiago Silva was coming off a long break due to his injury, and the Brazilian was sent off for a second yellow in the opening half. This incident also happened due to the fact that the midfielders in front of Silva kept making mistakes. They gave the ball away too quickly. The other defenders were also pretty poor as Matheus Pereira took shots at will, and no one closed him down, which led to two goals before halftime.

With Silva suspended for the game against Crystal Palace, Tuchel has two choose three defenders amongst Andreas Christensen, Cesar Azpilicueta, Antonio Rudiger, Kurt Zouma and Emerson Palmieri, who is supposedly a centerback now.

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Kurt Zouma has been pretty shaky at times under Tuchel. Now, Tuchel could opt to start the same backline that started against Porto, and this could mean that Silva starts the second leg against Porto. Callum Hudson-Odoi returned from the international break with a possible injury. However, he was on the bench against Porto and could start this game to keep Reece James fresh for the second leg against Porto. Marcos Alonso could feature against Crystal Palace as Ben Chilwell was in supreme form midweek and is likely to keep his place in the second leg.

With the second leg around the corner, Tuchel will have to be careful about his starting defenders against Crystal Palace. However, he will also need to ensure that the Blue come back with a clean sheet against the Eagles, considering the massacre that happened with the Baggies.

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