Maurizio Sarri is unlikely to change the winning formula as Chelsea host an undefeated Bournemouth side at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
Chelsea host Bournemouth with two different streaks on the line. Chelsea have three wins out of three while Bournemouth are undefeated as of yet. Which one of the streaks will give way, if at all, will be interesting to see on Saturday. Chelsea though, are almost at full strength.
As far as the defence is concerned, Kepa Arrizabalaga is a permanent presence in goal for Chelsea, with Maurizio Sarri likely to stick to the back four of Cesar Azpilicueta, Antonio Rudiger, David Luiz and Marcos Alonso. Andreas Christensen will have to make do with a place on the bench, with Gary Cahill still off the pace.
The midfield trio of Mateo Kovacic, Jorginho and N’Golo Kante pick themselves. But, Cesc Fabregas is a doubt for the game and might not even make the bench against Bournemouth. Ruben Loftus-Cheek though, will hope to get more minutes under his belt, especially with Maurizio Sarri talking the player up in his pre-match conference.
“I am very, very happy with him. In the last 10 days he has improved a lot. I am really very happy with him. He will be important for sure, starting in September when we will play every three days. I think Loftus will be very useful for us. I think he can be a Premier League starter at Chelsea.”
“It’s not easy to play here, there are 25 very good players so it’s not easy to play in the starting XI, but if he improves more he will be ready to play from the beginning. He has to improve in order to play my football. He has great qualities from the physical and technical point of view, but he has to improve in the tactical point of view.”
Pedro should retain his place on the right over Willian, with Eden Hazard starting on the left. Alvaro Morata should start upfront but will have to take his chances against Bournemouth, with Olivier Giroud waiting in the wings to topple him as the first-choice.