Chelsea are now under 24 hours away from their match against Palmeiras in FIFA’s Club World Cup final.
Blues manager Thomas Tuchel has officially arrived in Abu Dhabi after overcoming the necessary Covid-19 protocols, which will be a massive lift for everybody.
Tuchel’s side are still preparing ahead Saturday’s cup final.
The Chelsea Chronicle is predicting there will be five changes to the starting line-up from the side that beat Al Hilal 1-0 in Wednesday’s semi-final. Importantly, it’s a move away from the 3-4-2-1 formation to a 4-3-3 shape.
Yes, it’s wholesale changes to a side from a semi-final to a final. However, they are playing in tough conditions and the strength is there in the squad to bring in some quality fresh faces.
Chelsea back four
First of all, everyone wants to know whether Edouard Mendy or Kepa Arrizabalaga will start in net. It feels like a genuine 50-50 that could go either way, but we are predicting Mendy is recalled to the XI after assistant Zsolt Low confirmed in his press conference that he’s available for selection once again.
The second of five changes has Malang Sarr replace Marcos Alonso in the starting XI. It would sense for Tuchel to revert from a back three to a back four if that’s the case, too.
It’s the familiar experienced trio of Cesar Azpilicueta, Thiago Silva and Antonio Rudiger completing a four-man defence next to left-back Sarr.
Midfield masterclass loading
A swap to a 4-3-3 system means losing centre-back Andreas Christensen from the team and replacing him with Mason Mount, who can be really effective as a number eight.
Jorginho, who was substituted off during the Al Hilal match, should be ready to start again.
A fourth change has Mateo Kovacic drop out for N’Golo Kante, which may be one that some struggle to fathom. Unfortunately, Tuchel does like to rotate his options in the centre of the park, so Kovacic could be the very unlucky one to miss out.
It’s no longer an alien formation to this Chelsea side given the amount of changes during the last couple of months, so we’ve got with a three-man midfield to try boss proceedings.
21-year-old returns in attack
The fifth and final change has Chelsea winger Callum Hudson-Odoi replace Kai Havertz.
Hakim Ziyech’s spot as the right-winger looked nailed-on for now, while centre-forward Romelu Lukaku is getting a serious run in the side to prove himself. Hopefully, Lukaku’s midweek goal to book his team a spot in the final lifts his game.
Hudson-Odoi’s played fairly regularly recently, especially as the left-winger, so perhaps his freshnesses will be added to the line-up tomorrow.
The likes of Timo Werner and Christian Pulisic are pushing to start as well, while Havertz did impress against Al Hilal.
Predicted line-up
Mendy
Azpilicueta Silva Rudiger Sarr
Mount Jorginho Kante
Ziyech Lukaku Hudson-Odoi
IN: Mendy, Sarr, Kante, Mount, Hudson-Odoi
OUT: Kepa, Alonso, Christensen, Kovacic, Havertz
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