Chelsea will entertain Frank Lampard’s Derby County in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday night hoping to secure a place in the next round of the competition. The Pensioners come into this game after claiming a comfortable 4-0 victory against Burnley, but Maurizio Sarri is expected to make a whole host of changes for this clash.
It is expected that the Blues will line up in a 4-3-3 formation with the likes of Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Cesc Fabregas and Gary Cahill all coming back to feature in Sarri’s first-team.
4-3-3 Chelsea Predicted Lineup To Face Derby County
Defence
Kepa Arrizabalaga is expected to resume his shot-stopping duties in goal for the Pensioners for this EFL Cup encounter against Derby County. The Spanish goalie has enjoyed a rich vein of form of late and will once again look to put in an impressive display in front of the Chelsea supporters on Wednesday night.
Maurizio Sarri could opt to line up with Andreas Christensen and Gary Cahill in central defence so that both Antonio Rudiger and David Luiz are well-rested for the league clash versus Crystal Palace next weekend. Davide Zappacosta might start at right-back while Emerson Palmieri would look to impress on the left side of Sarri’s defence.
The Blues of London come into this clash after keeping a clean sheet at Burnley on Sunday. They are in terrific form and would be confident about their chances of keeping the Derby attackers at bay.
Midfield
Cesc Fabregas would be brought back to the Pensioners midfield as he did not play any minutes against the Clarets. Both Mateo Kovacic and Ruben Loftus-Cheek might accompany the Spanish midfielder at the middle of the park. Loftus-Cheek has scored four goals in his last two outings for Chelsea which included a hattrick versus BATE Borisov last week.
Attack
Pedro is a significant doubt for this encounter but could overcome a stomach problem to start in midweek. Willian is expected to line up on the left flank while Alvaro Morata should once again be tasked with spearheading Sarri’s attack following his goal-scoring contributions at the Turf Moor on Sunday.
