Chelsea fans’ preferred lineup against Tottenham Hotspur: 4-3-3 all the way as Reece James starts

The first of two London derbies over the holidays is upon us as Chelsea take on Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane. None other than José Mourinho is now in charge of Spurs and we’ll all need to be on top of our games to best our most successful manager of all time.

THE PEOPLE’S CHOICE

The WAGNH community’s putting our faith in the usual suspects, and are sticking with the recently favored 4-3-3 over the 4-2-3-1 (24%).

Reece James might have started on the bench the last two games, but he’s clearly preferred over Emerson (41%) and Marcos Alonso (14%) at full back. Meanwhile, in the center, Fikayo Tomori (30%) has been confirmed to be available for selection; however, the uncertainty may have played a part in Kurt Zouma easily winning the starting spot next to Antonio Rüdiger, while Andreas Christensen (16%) was little more than an afterthought.

In midfield, it’s Chelsea’s usual three-man setup once again, as N’Golo Kanté, Mateo Kovačić, and Jorginho don’t really have much competition to speak of. Mason Mount (27%) put up a decent fight; Ross Barkley (4%) did not.

And it’s the usual trio in attack as well, as Callum Hudson-Odoi (26%) falls further down the list towards Pedro (3%). Tammy Abraham, starting in between Christian Pulisic and Willian, led all players in votes received in fact.

4-3-3 (61%)
Arrizabalaga (92%) | Azpilicueta (81%), Rüdiger (97%), Zouma (60%), James (69%) | Kovačić (89%), Jorginho (87%), Kanté (96%) | Pulisic (89%), Abraham (97%), Willian (71%)

MY PREFERRED LINEUP

I made two changes from the community’s preferred lineup as I really want to see how a centre-back pairing of Tomori and Rüdiger can work together. Also, I’d still rather see Hudson-Odoi given the nod in attack. If he messes up, fine. But he needs to come back to form sometime and minutes are key. Throwing him on while trailing is always going to be difficult and at least he’ll learn from his mistakes unlike others.

4-3-3
Arrizabalaga | Azpilicueta, Tomori, Rüdiger, James | Kovačić, Jorginho, Kanté | Hudson-Odoi, Abraham, Pulisic

COME ON, YOU BLUES!!!