Chelsea at West Ham predicted XI: Absentees return in fluid 3-4-2-1

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Chelsea’s Moroccan midfielder Hakim Ziyech (R) celebrates scoring the opening goal with his teammate Chelsea’s German midfielder Kai Havertz (L) and Chelsea’s English midfielder Callum Hudson-Odoi (C) during the UEFA Champions League group H football match Malmo FF v Chelsea FC in Malmo, Sweden on November 2, 2021. (Photo by Jonathan NACKSTRAND / AFP) (Photo by JONATHAN NACKSTRAND/AFP via Getty Images) /

Hakim Ziyech (No. 22) Right winger, Morocco

Hakim Ziyech has been outstanding in the past few weeks. He was rested against Watford but also had to be brought on, a decision that turned out to be the match decider. Ziyech’s Chelsea career has been laden with all sorts of injuries, most recently his dislocated shoulder, but he is getting back to the form he was in right before that injury in the Super Cup final. Ziyech has been heavily criticized, which as one of the more experienced players in the attack, is a bit understandable. However, criticism of his mistakes is often blown out of proportion.

Kai Havertz (No. 29) Center forward, Germany

Kai Havertz was the only one singled out for praise by Tuchel following the embarrassing display by the Blues at Vicarage Road. It was justified praise, as well. Havertz created Chelsea’s only clear cut chance on the night. He also completed all four dribbles he attempted. He won 11 out of 18 duels. His distribution was a bit off, but he was generally very good, which could not be said about many of the other players that started that game. Havertz’s height would help, as well.

Callum Hudson-Odoi (No. 20) Left winger, England

Callum Hudson-Odoi has done more to deserve a starting spot than most of the other players in the running for the same spot over a longer period of time. He has been creating a lot of very good chances when he has played and it is easy to expect goals to flow if a better finisher was starting like, say, Romelu Lukaku. The youngster was likely rested against Watford because he had played a considerable number of games in a short period of time. Hudson-Odoi has created the most chances for the Blues in the league per game, which is a testament to what he brings to the side, as well as creating three big chances in seven league games. He also ranks second for chances created per game in the UEFA Champions League.

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