Chelsea at Dinamo Zagreb: Predicted XI to kick off the UCL

Thiago Silva (No. 6) Centerback, Brazil
Silva was the Blues’ best player against West Ham United, but even that doesn’t say much as it was not a good performance overall. Even Silva struggled to pick up runners and get into good defensive positions sometimes during the game. His anticipation has done him a world of good in the Premier League as he’s not a fast player.

Kalidou Koulibaly (No. 26) Left centerback, Senegal
Koulibaly has been found wanting in many of the goals and clear-cut chances the Blues have allowed this season. One example is the chance Maxwell Cornet got as he ran behind Koulibaly unmarked to get a free header 7 yards from Mendy’s goal. The centerbacks have generally not done a good job of picking up runners so far this season. They all need to improve in this department.

Reece James (No. 24) Right wingback, England
James starts this one by default. The good thing is that the Fofana acquisition ended the Reece-James-as-a-Centerback (RJaaC) experiment. Chelsea now has James in the position in which he can impact the team the most. The Blues need to really have a go at the Champions League this season.

Mateo Kovacic (No. 8) Central midfielder, Croatia
Kovacic started the West Ham game and played well. He’s likely to start this game as he’s still the best dribbler the Blues has in the midfield and is a reliable source of goal-scoring chances, in fact, he created one of Chelsea’s two clear-cut chances in the game. Chelsea has missed Kovacic and fans can now look forward to his return.