Chelsea vs Leicester City predicted XI: Personnel changes in 3-5-2?
Chelsea welcomes Leicester City to Stamford Bridge on Saturday as it tries to bounce back from the nightmare it had against Leeds United. Thomas Tuchel tried to deflect away from the players in his post-match presser, but even he knows it was a desperate attempt. There’s no defending that performance from the Blues or hiding from the collective blunder that was the players and head coach on the day. Tuchel now needs to show that he has at least learnt some lessons from that disappointing outing and take a full three points at home this weekend. One can expect the manager to set up in a 3-5-2 formation given the players available for selection,
Here is who The Pride of London sees in Tuchel’s starting XI against the Foxes:
Edouard Mendy (No. 16) Goalkeeper, Senegal
Many fans have called for Edouard Mendy to be dropped, even if temporarily. What’s funny about the calls are that they agree that Mendy is by far the best goalkeeper on the roster, but they want him to be dropped for no solid reason—just to send a message. Recall that Kepa Arrizabalaga started the FA Cup final in the 2020/21 season and conceded a long shot to Youri Tielemans. Many fans took to Twitter to vent their anger at Tuchel for doing the dumb thing of “not starting his best players,” especially in a cup final. That goal didn’t have much to do with Arrizabalaga, but he was blamed anyway, and his manager was subsequently blamed for starting him.
Chelsea was horrendous against Leeds, and each outfielder was at least twice as bad as Mendy on the day. To suggest that the No. 1 keeper should be dropped when the defense in front of him brought blankets and coolers of Carabao to the pitch to have a picnic, is like blaming a striker for not scoring when the players supposed to create for him all dropped 2/10s. Chelsea has everything it needs in a goalkeeper in the Senegalese. He remains the No. 1 shot-stopper and he will continue to start for good reason.
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Reece James (No. 24) Right centerback, England
The “Reece James as a centerback” experiment should be coming to a close soon. However, the Blues are now set to face Patson Daka and Jamie Vardy—two pacey forwards—so prepare to see perhaps the last test-run of the test. To say that James is not a centerback is an understatement, but many fans seem to be smitten by the idea. This is despite the fact that Chelsea has gained nothing from him being there. The Blues have no creative source further than the back line with James playing as a centerback, and this just intensifies Chelsea’s need to get Wesley Fofana, or any other defender, over the line.
Thiago Silva (No. 6) Centerback, Brazil
The third goal against Leeds United shows why the club has to start putting things in place to phase out Thiago Silva. His replacement should already be at the club, and I don’t mean Kalidou Koulibaly either. Silva was pulled so far out of position for that goal and he couldn’t recover in time. It didn’t help that James was nowhere near proceedings to be useful though. Regardless, he is still one of the Blues’ best defenders, so he starts against the Foxes.
Trevoh Chalobah (No. 14) Left centerback, England
Trevoh Chalobah has not gotten a game this season, which is more than a little surprising. Chalobah played 20 Premier League games last season and he was very good throughout the campaign. No, he’s not the finished product, but you don’t have to be in order to get a run out if you’re playing at a good level. The things Chalobah doesn’t do right can easily be learnt—like aerial duels. He’ll cut out errors as he gains experience, and he’ll get better at picking up runners throughout that time, as well. He’s 22-years-old, and as a centerback, he still has up to three years before he reaches his prime. Chalobah’s already very good, which makes that last sentence hard to comprehend (in a good way) for Chelsea fans.