Chelsea will face off against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Tuesday evening hoping to build on their 3-0 win over Watford last night. The Blues suffered a 3-2 defeat at the hands of West Ham United in their previous away outing, so this upcoming clash versus the Eagles could be another tricky match for them heading into the crucial final phase of this campaign.
Frank Lampard will stick with his favoured 4-3-3 formation and might be inclined to name an unchanged team for this highly-anticipated London derby.
4-3-3 Chelsea Predicted Lineup To Face Crystal Palace
Defence
Kepa Arrizabalaga will operate in between the sticks for the Blues after keeping a well-deserved clean sheet against the Hornets yesterday. Lampard could choose to play Andreas Christensen once again alongside Kurt Zouma at the centre of his defence. Both centre-backs will have to cope with the pace and the trickery of Palace’s Wilfried Zaha on the counter.
Reece James might keep his place at right-back while Cesar Azpilicueta looks to produce another energetic performance as a makeshift left-back. The Chelsea captain has been a far better defender than Marcos Alonso in recent seasons, so Lampard could be inclined to start him at left-back once again in midweek.
Midfield
The Blues midfield will be comprised of Mason Mount, N’Golo Kante and Ross Barkley after their excellent collective showing versus the Hornets yesterday. Barkley picked up a goal as well as an assist in that game which would do his confidence a world of good.
Both Jorginho and Ruben Loftus-Cheek will have to be content with a place on the bench but might come on to make an impact in the second half if required.
Attack
Both Christian Pulisic and Willian have been enjoying a rich vein of form of late, so we can expect Lampard to unleash them out on the flanks. Olivier Giroud could get the nod to lead the charge for the Blues down the middle following another brilliant goal-scoring performance from him on Saturday.
Tammy Abraham and Callum Hudson-Odoi will be available for selection on the bench. They could both be utilised as the impact substitutes if Chelsea require a late goal in this exciting midweek derby versus the Eagles.
