Chelsea will face off against Atletico Madrid at the Arena Naţională in Bucharest on Tuesday night as they look to pick up a win in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League last 16 tie. The Blues were held to a 1-1 draw against Southampton in the Premier League last Saturday, which has halted their momentum going into this midweek clash in Europe.
Thomas Tuchel could stick with his favoured 3-4-2-1 formation and is expected to make a couple of changes to his first-team for this game. Jorginho, Olivier Giroud and Andreas Christensen will probably get the nod to start at the expense of Mateo Kovacic, Tammy Abraham and Kurt Zouma.
3-4-2-1 Chelsea Predicted Lineup To Face Atletico Madrid
Defence
Edouard Mendy will continue to operate in between the sticks for the Blues after conceding one goal against the Saints in his last appearance. Tuchel might opt for a back three of Cesar Azpilicueta, Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger as they try to keep the Atletico attackers quiet during the 90 minutes.
Kurt Zouma will offer cover for the centre-back positions on the Chelsea bench.
Midfield
Jorginho could anchor the midfield along with N’Golo Kante at the heart of the Blues midfield as they focus on dominating the battle at the centre of the park. Marcos Alonso is likely to fill in as a wing-back down the left flank, while Reece James gets another chance to impress from the right.
Timo Werner and Mason Mount will play on the shoulders of Olivier Giroud. Mount managed to get his name on the scoresheet from the penalty spot in his last outing, which will keep him in high spirits going into this clash.
Mateo Kovacic, Hakim Ziyech and Callum Hudson-Odoi will be available for selection on the bench and might come on to make an impact in the latter stages of the game if required.
Attack
Olivier Giroud could get the opportunity to lead the line for the West London giants up top. The French centre-forward needs to have a good game if he wants to get more starts under Tuchel in the remainder of this campaign.
However, Tammy Abraham is a significant concern for this game after he picked up an ankle injury versus Southampton last Saturday.
