Our Chelsea correspondents discuss and discuss their team selection when the Blues welcome struggling Manchester United to Stamford Bridge on Saturday evening.
Back-to-back defeats – albeit one on penalties – left a sour taste in Chelsea’s mouths. It’s been a tough week for Xabi Alonso so far, but at least Manchester United are here to remind us that it’s not all bad at Stamford Bridge.
“United” will host “Chelsea” next time. The Blues will be hoping they face the United we’ve seen in recent weeks and not a wounded beast on Saturday afternoon.
All Alonso can do is focus on Chelsea and their performance. Given the quick turnaround between Wednesday night’s Carabao Cup fourth-round defeat at Anfield and Saturday’s lunchtime start against Man United, he doesn’t have much time to do that.
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However, football.london‘s Chelsea reporters Bobby Vincent and Jake Stokes Below, they give their thoughts on what Alonso should do with Saturday’s team selection – and agree on what to do with Estevao Willian.
Bobby Vincent
Mike Penders was better for Chelsea in the defeat to Liverpool, with the 21-year-old goalkeeper showing his mentality to bounce back from his nightmare Premier League debut against Tottenham a few days earlier. Amy Martinez is out, so Penders will be between the posts again on Saturday afternoon.
Trying to guess Alonso’s jersey of choice is a losing game. Personally, I’d go with a 4-2-3-1 with Josh Acheampong at right-back, Wesley Fofana – Maxence Lacroix (hamstring) a doubt – alongside Levi Colwill in the centre, with Marco Palestra as left-back.
Moises Caicedo and Jordan Henderson are in midfield, with Cole Palmer returning from suspension in the No.10 role. I don’t think Alonso will do it, but Estevao deserves the opportunity to impress on the right side of the attack and Morgan Rodgers on the other.
Danny Welbeck vs Emmanuel Emegha for the number 9 role. While Emegha was brilliant off the bench against Liverpool, going with the more experienced Welbeck for this one might be a wise decision. Welbeck is also enjoying playing against his former club Manchester United.
Bobby’s XI (4-2-3-1): Penders; Lecture, Acheampong, Colwill, Hato; Caicedo, Henderson; Estevao, Palmer, Rogers; Wellbeck
Jake Stokes
Suddenly Chelsea can’t leave Stamford Bridge with anything less than three points on Saturday afternoon. The Blues need to dust themselves off and heap the misery on Manchester United, rekindling spirits on and off the pitch. It goes without saying that Penders remains between the sticks as Martinez is still recovering from surgery on a broken jaw. The goalkeeper was superb for Chelsea at Anfield on Wednesday night; he was just an Emegha punishment from being a hero.
At the back, Alonso should make Colwill the new centre-back in the back three, on paper anyway, with Jorrel Hato on the left and Acheampong on the right. Instead of switching to the right with the right centre-back becoming a right-back, I’d like the Blues to switch to the left. In doing so, Hato and Cole will remain at left-back and left-centre-back respectively, while Acheampong takes on the right-centre-back role of Lacroix’s aggressive front foot. Instead of dropping Pedro Neto deeper, he should cross to the left (left wing out of possession), while Palestra nods to the right flanking the right wing. Fofana has nothing to do with Chelsea again so it’s worth Alonso’s time! Otherwise, hopefully, Caicedo recovers from his minor knock, Romeo Lavia replaces Henderson, Palmer rejoins the front line and Estevao gets his first Premier League start of the season to create a free-flowing attack. It would be nice to see more of Emegha, but of course he’s just back in action!
Jake’s XI (3-4-3): Penders; Acheampong, Colwill, Hato; Neto, Lavia, Caicedo, Palestra; Palmer, Estevao, Rogers