'Start him please': Some Chelsea fans desperate for 22-year-old to be picked to face Manchester City
A selection of Chelsea supporters on social media asked for Kai Havertz to start against Manchester City tomorrow afternoon.
In fact, they ordered Thomas Tuchel to pick his fellow countryman from the first whistle for Saturday’s potentially epic Premier League encounter at the Etihad.
Havertz high on the list
Havertz has history with the reigning top-flight champions.
It was his goal last May that secured dark blue ribbons on the Champions League trophy and ended Pep Guardiola’s pursuit of a third European title.
RONALDO NEEDS TO STOP WHINING.
He also provided the assist for Callum Hudson-Odoi’s consolation in the 3-1 defeat at Stamford Bridge almost 12 months ago.
Having sat out the midweek Carabao Cup triumph over Tottenham Hotspur, the German international should be fit and fresh for the upcoming faceoff.
Chelsea fans certainly feel the 22-year-old is ready to lead the line, in place of Romelu Lukaku, who played the full +90 minutes on Wednesday.
Here’s what they had to say about Havertz’s inclusion this weekend on Twitter:
Start Kai
— ²⁹ (@clinicalkai) January 13, 2022
Start him he’s better than lukaku
— raph (@WERNERST4N) January 13, 2022
Start kai then
— CfcAll (@allchelsea29) January 13, 2022
Beach lukaku and start him
— Abdulsalam Olamilekan (@OLAcryptoman) January 13, 2022
Start him please
— j son (@stanny999) January 13, 2022
Start Kai over lukaku
— H (@hfarid76) January 13, 2022
Start him over Rom 🤞🏽
— Lucaaa📶 (@MafiaBo33) January 13, 2022
How will Tuchel approach the City contest?
Aside from Havertz, Tuchel has plenty of possible player inclusions and exclusions he must consider ahead of the trip to Manchester.
Who begins the game at right wing-back will be one of the biggest questions he must answer.
Cesar Azpilicueta is the obvious choice, although he like Lukaku lasted the entire match against Spurs.
Azpilicueta may be asked to play the back three anyway, now Andreas Christensen has tested positive for covid.
Callum Hudson-Odoi, Christian Pulisic and Hakim Ziyech have all featured on the right of a back five, but would City pick of their defensive weaknesses too easily?
More queries for Tuchel
Then there’s the central midfield debate. Which two out of Mateo Kovacic, N’Golo Kante and Jorginho does Tuchel put together?
Kante came on for Kovacic during the Tottenham fixture, so it seems they will be the starting pair.
Chelsea’s forward line changes by the hour, so it’s almost impossible to predict the three frontmen.
But guessing is part of the fun!
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