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Chelsea vs Norwich predicted XI: Back to 3-4-2-1 with injuries?

By Olaoluwa Nwobodo

Chelsea's German midfielder Kai Havertz celebrates scoring his team's third goal with Chelsea's English midfielder Callum Hudson-Odoi during the Champions League group H football match between Chelsea and Malmo FF at Stamford Bridge in London on October 20, 2021. (Photo by Adrian DENNIS / AFP) (Photo by ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP via Getty Images)
Chelsea's German midfielder Kai Havertz celebrates scoring his team's third goal with Chelsea's English midfielder Callum Hudson-Odoi during the Champions League group H football match between Chelsea and Malmo FF at Stamford Bridge in London on October 20, 2021. (Photo by Adrian DENNIS / AFP) (Photo by ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP via Getty Images) /
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LONDON, ENGLAND – AUGUST 14: Edouard Mendy of Chelsea during the Premier League match between Chelsea and Crystal Palace at Stamford Bridge on August 14, 2021 in London, England. (Photo by Sebastian Frej/MB Media/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – AUGUST 14: Edouard Mendy of Chelsea during the Premier League match between Chelsea and Crystal Palace at Stamford Bridge on August 14, 2021 in London, England. (Photo by Sebastian Frej/MB Media/Getty Images) /

Chelsea welcomes bottom place Norwich City to Stamford Bridge as it continues its title charge. The Canaries have not won a game this season and now is the worst time for the Blues to be their usual “Charity FC” selves. They will be looking to make a statement and pile more misery on the visitors, especially after losing their two out-and-out strikers against Malmo.

Those injuries in mind, who does Thomas Tuchel trust to outscore Norwich City on Saturday?

Edouard Mendy (No. 16) Goalkeeper, Senegal

Edouard Mendy faced zero shots on target against Malmo and that reflects just how dominant the Blues were against the Swedish champion. They should not expect Norwich to be that easy. Mendy has been Chelsea’s Player of the Season so far and if he continues like this, he’ll likely win the Premier League Golden Glove. Mendy has prevented the most goals of any goalkeeper in the Premier League this season (+2.3). That is good news, but also a slight source of worry. This shows Mendy is doing his job impeccably well, but the same can’t be said about the defense.

Trevoh Chalobah (No. 14) Right centerback, England

Trevoh Chalobah had an outstanding game against Brentford, remembered most notably by his goal line clearance. He didn’t feature against Malmo in the Champions League but that’s understandable as he had just played 90 minutes three days before. Chalobah has stepped into Chelsea’s first team and has not looked out of place, which is huge credit to him

Andreas Christensen (No. 4) Centerback, Denmark

Andreas Christensen has been superb this season. It might be a surprise seeing as Christensen was the fourth-choice centerback under Frank Lampard last year. The formation change was implemented for the sake of all Chelsea centerbacks and midfielders, and everyone was given a clean slate. There were winners and losers in that; Christensen was definitely a winner. The Dane leads Chelsea in passes per game (65.3) and interceptions per game (2.3) for players who have played three games or more. He has been very good in helping the Blues play out from the back.

Antonio Rudiger (No. 2) Left centerback, Germany

Antonio Rudiger played well against Malmo. He did well to win the penalty, which makes you wonder what he’s doing in that position in the first place. Rudiger made the most positive defensive actions, completed the highest proportion of long balls amongst the centerbacks (60 percent) and won the most duels of any centerback (5).

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