Chelsea will be looking to bounce back to winning ways on Tuesday when they kick off their campaign in the EFL Cup against Lincoln.
Enzo Maresca has seen his side lose consecutive games across the Champions League and Premier League, with the most recent game being the chaotic defeat to Manchester United.
The boss was let down by the early red card of Robert Sanchez, and had to deal with Cole Palmer coming off injured in a nightmare first 45 minutes.
Chelsea’s established first team players will be delighted to potentially be given a break when they make the trip up to Lincoln, given they are about to see a plethora of games come in short succession.
The Chelsea Chronicle are expecting Maresca to ring the changes for this one, and we have predicted the XI that will start the game in the EFL Cup.
Chelsea predicted XI vs Lincoln
With Sanchez’s suspension, Filip Jorgensen will be handed his first start of the season, as he looks to take his chance to impress in the Spaniard’s absence.
Malo Gusto will start at right-back after Reece James completed his first 90 minutes of the season against United.
There will be a first appearance since the opening day for Josh Acheampong, who many believe has been unfairly treated this season in terms of his minutes.
Benoit Badiashile will join him at the back, as the Frenchman makes his first appearance of the season following a lengthy layoff through injury.
Jorrel Hato will come in to the starting side for Marc Cucurella. He will be hoping to enjoy a far easier performance than he did in his first start against Brentford.
After coming on as an early substitute against United, Andrey Santos will start for the first time this season in the middle of the park.
He will be joined by Enzo Fernandez, who will almost certainly be replaced by Moises Caicedo during the game to keep the pair rotated.
Facundo Buonanotte will start in place of the stricken Palmer. There were some questions as to why he was not on the bench at Old Trafford if the Englishman’s injury was known before the game.
Tyrique George will start this one over fellow wideman Jamie Gittens. Despite the Englishman coming very close to leaving in the summer, Maresca seems to trust him off the bench right now.
The opposite wing will see a first start for Alejandro Garnacho, who will be keen to prove to the manager that he should be considered for Premier League starts very soon.
Up front, there will be a first start since returning from loan for Marc Guiu, another player who has found it hard to work his way into the matchday squad since returning to Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea predicted XI vs Lincoln: Jorgensen; Gusto, Acheampong, Badiashile, Hato; Santos, Fernandez; George, Buonanotte, Garnacho; Guiu
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