Chelsea will entertain Atletico Madrid at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night as they look to earn a result that would ensure their place in the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals. The Blues only managed to grind out a 0-0 draw against Leeds United last weekend, which has halted their momentum ahead of this European encounter in midweek.
Thomas Tuchel will once again opt for a 3-4-2-1 formation and is expected to make some changes and name his strongest XI for this game. Olivier Giroud could get the nod to spearhead the West London outfit’s attack up top at the expense of Kai Havertz, who will drop to the bench. However, Both Mason Mount and Jorginho are suspended for this game.
3-4-2-1 Chelsea Predicted Lineup To Face Atletico Madrid
Defence
Edouard Mendy will feature in goal for the Blues after securing a clean sheet in his last outing. Tuchel is expected to go with a back three of Cesar Azpilicueta, Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen for this game as the centre-back trio has formed a solid partnership on the defensive end of the field in recent weeks.
Kurt Zouma will offer cover for the central defensive positions on the bench.
Midfield
N’Golo Kante will anchor the midfield along with Mateo Kovacic as they try to establish their superiority at the centre of the park. Marcos Alonso will function as the left wing-back while Callum Hudson-Odoi fills in on the other side as a makeshift right wing-back. Both of them will have to figure out a way to create some decent chances for their teammates from the wide areas.
Timo Werner and Hakim Ziyech will be given the freedom to express themselves in the Atletico half as they assume the duties of the attacking midfielders. They will be instructed to make some well-timed runs behind the opposition defence and feed a few inviting passes to Olivier Giroud up top.
Attack
As mentioned earlier, Giroud will lead the line for the West Londoners in the final third. The French marksman scored the only goal of the game in the first leg, so he might fancy his chances of producing a similar display on Wednesday.
Kai Havertz will have to settle for a place on the bench but could come on to make an impact in the latter stages if needed.
