Chelsea fans’ preferred lineup against Crystal Palace: Kanté, James, Hudson-Odoi to start

After a ridiculous game during the week, Chelsea take on Crystal Palace at Stamford Bridge, where a win would see the Blues move into to second place, at least temporarily. Roy Hodgson’s side have been quite successful during the opening months of this season and Frank Lampard will have to be extra careful when choosing his starting eleven.

THE PEOPLE’S CHOICE

No real surprises today as the 4-2-3-1 formation is increasingly favoured by the WAGNH community, now well ahead of the 4-3-3 (21%) and any three-man defensive setup (7%).

In defense, it’s the familiar trio of César Azpilicueta, Fikayo Tomori, and Kurt Zouma, but it’s neither Marcos Alonso (5%) nor Emerson (66%) who joins them, but rather Reece James, who just squeaks by the latter. That would most likely mean Azpilicueta switching to left back, just as he did for the second half of the Ajax match on Tuesday.

In midfield, with Jorginho suspended for a fifth booking, the pairing of N’Golo Kanté and Mateo Kovačić doesn’t come as a surprise. Once again there was little to no competition for this position, as Ross Barkley (3%) and Billy Gilmour (9%) miss out by a very wide margin.

It’s mostly a familiar situation in attack as well, with one key difference. Callum Hudson-Odoi joins Christian Pulisic and Willian, in support of Tammy Abraham up front. Mason Mount’s assumed ankle problem knocks him do to just 20%, while none of the other options come close, with Pedro (6%), Michy Batshuayi (10%), and Olivier Giroud (2%) barely registering.

4-2-3-1 (70%)
Arrizabalaga (98%) | Azpilicueta (70%), Tomori (91%), Zouma (91%), James (67%) | Kovačić (97%), Kanté (98%) | Hudson-Odoi (78%), Pulisic (94%), Willian (84%) | Abraham (90%)

MY PREFERRED LINEUP

A rare occasion when I wholeheartedly agree with each and every pick of the community. This is the eleven that will mostly likely guarantee success for this game.

4-2-3-1
Arrizabalaga | Azpilicueta, Tomori, Zouma, James | Kovačić, Kanté | Hudson-Odoi, Pulisic, Willian | Abraham

COME ON, YOU BLUES!!!