Fans’ choice Chelsea lineup against Eintracht Frankfurt: Giroud, Hazard, RLC to lead the way

Chelsea take on Eintracht Frankfurt in the first leg of the Europa League semifianl, and will be looking to lay the foundation here to advance to the final. But a long and tedious season has taken its toll and injuries are limiting Maurizio Sarri’s options. Nevertheless, a strong starting eleven will be needed to beat the in-form side from Germany.

THE PREDICTED LINEUP

Kepa Arrizabalaga starts between the sticks, big surprise.

With Antonio Rüdiger, Gary Cahill, and Ethan Ampadu all out injured or unfit, David Luiz and Andreas Christensen will form the centre-back pairing for the remainder of the season. César Azpilicueta will continue to play as always on the right, while rotation will likely see Emerson come in for Marcos Alonso on the left.

Ruben Loftus-Cheek may have been on the bench against Manchester United on Sunday, so he’ll presumably find himself in the starting eleven this time around. Given the importance of the game, I can see Maurizio Sarri continuing with Jorginho and N’Golo Kanté, though Ross Barkley could possibly replace the latter.

There should be no doubt that Olivier Giroud, the top scorer in the Europa League, starts the game, and will look to combine effectively with Eden Hazard as he’s done many times. With Willian picking up a knock on Sunday, Pedro’s likely to complete the starting eleven.

4-3-3
Arrizabalaga | Emerson, David Luiz, Christensen, Azpilicueta | Loftus-Cheek, Jorginho, Kanté | Hazard, Giroud, Pedro

THE PEOPLE’S CHOICE

There’s little doubt about the WAGNH community’s preferences, with Pedro the only starter to fall short of the two-thirds majority, and just barely. Willian (48%) was next best, followed by Barkley (30%), Alosno (26%), and Mateo Kovačić (24%). Gonzalo Higuaín (10%) gained fewer votes than Davide Zappacosta (11%) or Gary Cahill (11%).

4-3-3 (74%)
Arrizabalaga (96%) | Emerson (76%), David Luiz (90%), Christensen (96%), Azpilicueta (90%) | Loftus-Cheek (85%), Jorginho (68%), Kanté (90%) | Hazard (89%), Giroud (90%), Pedro (64%)

MY PREFERRED LINEUP

Everyone’s in full agreement as I’m going with the same lineup as the community, which is the same lineup as our prediction. Yay!

4-3-3
Arrizabalaga | Emerson, David Luiz, Christensen, Azpilicueta | Loftus-Cheek, Jorginho, Kanté | Hazard, Giroud, Pedro

COME ON YOU BLUES!!!