Chelsea gear up for a scintillating London Derby against Tottenham Hotspurs on Thursday in the Premier League with potential top four stakes on the line.
Thomas Tuchel has kept pundits and fans alike with his Russian roulette of team selections after making major altercations in both of his first games in charge.
Tuchel cannot afford to take any risks this time around as Chelsea face off against their city rival in an intriguing between two sides vying for European Football.
With the stakes so high, Tuchel should go with his tried and tested formation of a 3-4-2-1.
Edouard Mendy takes his customary spot in goal. The back three also stays unchanged having kept consecutive clean sheets and have so far failed to face a shot on target.
Antonio Rudiger’s rehabilitation has been one of the most promising aspects of Tuchel’s short reign.
He was a distraction to Frank Lampard but has been offered a prominent role by his fellow countryman.
Callum Hudson-Odoi is the other shining example of the new regime. Tuchel has transformed the England international into an unorthodox wing-back, a position he had never previously played before.
From his recent performances, one might have thought he’d been playing there all his career.
Hudson-Odoi has been Chelsea’s most creative outlet down the right but it will be interesting to see how he copes defensively against the likes of Heung-min Son.
Marcus Alonso remains at left-wing back thanks to his scoring exploits on Sunday. He was another completely frozen out by Lampard but the £24m (Sky Sports) has found his feet again in this system.
Jorginho and Mateo Kovacic have formed a decent duo in the middle of the park. The pair have been Chelsea’s pass masters of late and Tuchel might not want to disrupt their rhythm.
This means there is still no room for the recovered N’Golo Kante.
Mason Mount keeps his spot after being reinstated against Burnley. Timo Werner drops out after another dismal day in front of goal in the last outing.
In his place comes Christian Pulisic. The 22-year-old has been a driving force off the bench and merits a spot in the starting line-up.
Leading the attack is Olivier Giroud, as he offers experience and physicality in the final third which is lacking in Werner or Tammy Abraham.
Chelsea Predicted XI for Tottenham: Mendy; Azpilicueta, Silva, Rudiger; Alonso, Jorginho, Kovacic, Hudson-Odoi; Mount, Giroud, Pulisic.
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