Chelsea Predicted XI vs Fulham: 3-4-3 with heavy rotation
Hakim Ziyech (No. 22) Right attacking midfielder, Morocco
Ziyech was introduced in the 66th minute against Real Madrid. He was mostly chasing shadows, as Madrid has worked out the kinks of a three-centerback formation (playing in one and playing against one) by that point. However, even when Chelsea got counter attacks, he was hardly given a chance to affect the game. Ziyech is Chelsea’s most experienced attacker bar Olivier Giroud, and definitely Chelsea’s best creative head. The West Ham game had no rhythm to the attack. In his absence the Blues struggle to retain the ball for decent periods of time in the final third, though Chelsea shouldn’t have issues retaining the ball in the final third in this game.
Christian Pulisic (No. 10) Left attacking midfielder, United States
Pulisic scored a sublime, crucial goal to hand the Blues the lead and a priceless away goal. He also headed a cross from Mason Mount into Timo Werner’s path, which Werner missed. One goal and one big chance created is a good performance in any match, much more so a Champions League semifinal. The American is in magnificent form at the moment, and everything he touches seems to turn to gold.
Timo Werner (No. 11) Center forward, Germany
Werner seems to be the scapegoat for Chelsea’s problem at the moment. This is funny because the Blues are in the Champions League semifinal and in the FA Cup final, as well as the driving seat of the top-four race, so you wonder what problems certain fans are thinking about. What’s worse is that Werner has been the target of all sorts of shallow criticisms in the wake of Tammy Abraham’s piece tag being announced. Tammy Abraham lovers have turned their irritation on the German because they feel he’s the reason Abraham was sidelined and is now seemingly being shown the door. Top clubs are known for three things; creating a lot of chances, missing a lot of chances and scoring a lot of chances. Chelsea only does one of those things: missing a lot. Guess where the problem is from?
Who do you think will be in the XI for Fulham? Let us know in the comments and on Twitter!