Chelsea FC can make it eight wins across all competitions when they entertain Manchester United in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup on Wednesday night.
The west London giants suffered a shocking 4-0 defeat to the Red Devils at Old Trafford in the season opener but they were the better side for nearly an hour of the contest.
In the lead-up to this game, Blues boss Frank Lampard has reiterated the same and has talked up the prospect of avenging what was a huge embarrassment in the first game of the Premier League season.
Formation: 4-2-3-1
Predicted Lineup:
Willy Caballero is likely to feature in goal for the forthcoming Cup tie after having played through the entire 90 minutes of the 7-1 thrashing of Grimsby Town last month.
In the defence, the central defensive spots should remain unchanged with Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen still short of fitness. In the full-back spots, Reece James and Emerson should come in for Cesar Azpilicueta and Marcos Alonso respectively.
Coming to the midfield, Lampard has the choice of fielding Billy Gilmour from the starting XI but he may refrain against the prospect. Instead, he may go with the tried and tested pairing of Jorginho and Mateo Kovacic. The latter has recently proved the catalyst behind the Blues’ smooth transition of play from the midfield to the forwards.
In the attack, Tammy Abraham, Willian and Mason Mount are candidates, who could be rested or placed on the bench, given they have played every Premier League and Champions League game under Lampard since September.
In their places, Michy Batshuayi, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Pedro should make the starting mix. Christian Pulisic may be the only attacker to keep his spot, given he has not been overworked this term, having barely featured in the opening months.
Pulisic produced a stellar showing at Burnley with his first-ever hat-trick at the professional level and his link-up play with Hudson-Odoi should be interesting to watch. Aaron Wan-Bissaka, who is the Premier League’s standout tackler, will provide a different challenge for Pulisic, should he feature from the left flank.
How Chelsea will line up vs Man United
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