Chelsea will travel to Wales to take on Cardiff City at the Cardiff City Stadium on Sunday hoping to bounce back from their 2-0 defeat away at Everton earlier this month. The Pensioners will go into this game as heavy favourites. However, the Blues will need to be at their best versus Neil Warnock’s side if they want to secure a win which would help their push for a top 4 finish at the end of this season.
Maurizio Sarri will stick with his favoured 4-3-3 formation and might start both Emerson Palmieri and Mateo Kovacic in this weekend’s league encounter.
4-3-3 Chelsea Predicted Lineup To Face Cardiff City
Defence
Kepa Arrizabalaga will begin the match in between the sticks for the Pensioners despite conceding two goals against Everton before the international break. The Spanish goalie will be protected by the defensive pair of David Luiz and Antonio Rudiger who have both struggled to find consistency at the heart of the Chelsea backline. Cesar Azpilicueta will feature in the right back position once again while Emerson Palmieri returns to Sarri’s first-team to play at left-back.
Marcos Alonso’s defensive performance was woeful versus the Toffees earlier this month so he might be dropped to the bench for this contest against the Bluebirds. Chelsea needs to keep things tight at the back away from home or else risk missing out on maximum points at the Cardiff City Stadium this weekend.
Midfield
The midfield three of Mateo Kovacic, Jorginho and N’Golo Kante should get the nod to resume their first-team responsibilities in Sarri’s starting XI as they look to establish the away team’s dominance at the centre of the park.
Jorginho will need to dictate play in midfield while Kante and Kovacic provide energy and running inside the opposition half. Ross Barkley might start this game on the bench after being heavily involved with England during the international break.
Attack
Both Eden Hazard and Pedro will look to stretch the pitch down the flanks while Gonzalo Higuain spearheads the Chelsea attack up top. None of the front three were able to impress with their performances at Goodison Park which ended up costing the Pensioners a result. Hence, Sarri’s men need to up their tempo in the opposition half and have their shooting boots on this weekend to finish off the chances they create going forward.
