English champions Chelsea have endured a shaky start to their new season. The title defence for Antonio Conte’s men has not gone according to the plan and the Blues are already nine points off the pace. Defeat to Burnley on the opening weekend set the tone for the challenging season that lies ahead.
Chelsea have struggled to cope up with the task of challenging on both domestic and European fronts. Defeats to Manchester City and Crystal Palace have reduced Chelsea to the third spot in the table. On the European front, they are now struggling and the humiliating 3-0 defeat to Roma underlined the deep-rooted problems at the club.
Chelsea have a comfortable weekend fixture this time against West Bromwich Albion. Tony Pulis’ men are having a bad run of form, losing the last three matches on the trot. As Chelsea return to action after an exciting week of international fixtures, here is how Antonio Conte will look to set his team up for the visit to the Hawthorns.
Predicted Line-Up
Formation: 3-5-2
Defence
Thibaut Courtois is expected to stand in goal for Chelsea. The three-man defence is likely to consist of Cesar Azpilicueta, Antonio Rudiger and the returning David Luiz. Gary Cahill, who sat out the international fixtures after suffering a minor injury setback, might just be saved up for the midweek clash against Qarabag.
Davide Zappacosta is expected to start on the right wing back position with Marcos Alonso the obvious choice as the left wing back.
Midfield
Chelsea will be relieved to have the returning N’Golo Kante on their side. The 2016/17 PFA player of the year has been sorely missed and showed his importance in the team in the clash against Manchester United. He is expected to be one of the midfielders with his partner likely to be Danny Drinkwater. Tiemoue Bakayoko, who was upset after being overlooked for the national team, suffered an injury scare in training last week and might not start against West Bromwich Albion.
Cesc Fabregas is expected to be the third man in the middle. He will, however, be playing a little further up with his primary task being to free Eden Hazard and Alvaro Morata.
Attack
Alvaro Morata will be expected to lead the line against West Bromwich Albion. Chelsea will be hoping that he can repeat his heroics from the Manchester United match and guide them to victory again. Eden Hazard will be expected to play in behind the striker. He will be tasked with the job of running at defences and will look to unsettle Pulis’ men with his pace and guile.
