Chelsea vs Leicester City predicted XI: Personnel changes in 3-5-2?

Raheem Sterling (No. 17) Right forward, England

It seems Tuchel is fixated on deploying Raheem Sterling as a center forward. Sterling would be one of the two center forwards in this 3-5-2 set-up. He’d alternate between dropping deep, as he’s being asked to do currently, and running in behind, which is his actual strength.

Chelsea is in the market for a center forward as it’s becoming clear that it cannot hang its hopes on Kai Havertz. The arrival of a proper striker would probably allow the Blues to move Sterling to his preferred left winger position. Chelsea is currently being heavily linked with Barcelona striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Aubameyang is still a lethal striker and if he develops the chemistry with Sterling early, they could be a formidable pair for Chelsea. Sterling has not been great since the season started, as he has taken the most shots without hitting the target, let alone scoring. However, Havertz has given Chelsea even less than Sterling, which is saying something.

Christian Pulisic (No. 10) Left forward, United States

Christian Pulisic likely starts this one as the left forward. He did very well getting himself into good shooting positions for Chelsea last season. He is also one of the Blues’ better finishers. He finished five out of 11 big chances that he received last year, whereas Havertz finished six out of 18. Hakim Ziyech played best out of all the substitutes last weekend, but he won’t play as a central midfielder in this formation, and he’s more suited to getting on the ball to supply players who are running in behind. He doesn’t do much running in behind himself.

Pulisic is more suited to playing a center forward role and that’s one of the reasons he’s likely to start. The American received the second most big chances for the Blues last season (11), despite not playing nearly as much as some of his colleagues along the front line. Nine players took up to 25 shots for Chelsea in the league last season, and only Havertz took his shots a shorter average distance to the goal (12.2) than Pulisic (12.9). This underpins the 23-year-old’s ability to get into good positions. Add to this the fact that he’s a much better finisher than Havertz and you see why he’s likely the one who starts as the second center forward alongside Sterling.

Who do you think should be in the starting XI? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter!