Chelsea will entertain Southampton at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday night as they hope to secure a victory in the Premier League. The Blues managed to earn a dominant 7-0 win over Norwich City at home last Saturday which will give them a lot of momentum going into this game.
Thomas Tuchel will stick with his favoured 3-4-2-1 formation and is expected to make a few changes to his first XI for this game. The likes of Malang Sarr and Trevoh Chalobah could get a start in central defence at the expense of Thiago Silva and Antonio Rudiger.
3-4-2-1 Chelsea Predicted Lineup To Face Southampton
Defence
Kepa Arrizabalaga will operate in goal for the West London outfit as Tuchel looks to give Edouard Mendy a well-deserved rest. Chelsea could opt for a back three of Trevoh Chalobah, Malang Sarr and Andreas Christensen for this game. All three defenders will be responsible for keeping things solid at the back versus the Saints in midweek.
Antonio Rudiger will be available for selection on the bench as he offers cover for the centre-half positions.
Midfield
Saul Niguez will anchor the midfield alongside Ruben Loftus-Cheek as they try to establish their superiority over the Saints at the centre of the park. Ben Chilwell will fill in as the left wing-back while Reece James hopes to give a good account of himself on the right flank.
Hakim Ziyech could get the nod to function as the left-sided attacking midfielder. Callum Hudson-Odoi is expected to try and put his pace to good use from the right. They will both have to ensure that they create enough chances for the Blues to emerge victorious in midweek.
Jorginho will be rested on the bench but might come on in the latter stages, especially if the game heads closer to penalties.
Attack
Kai Havertz will function as Chelsea’s primary centre-forward. Tuchel will give the German attacker the license to express himself up top in the injury absence of Romelu Lukaku. Timo Werner will also miss this important EFL Cup game because of injury.