Eden Hazard is in contention to feature for Chelsea, when they play hosts to Crystal Palace at Stamford Bridge on Sunday evening.
Chelsea will welcome Crystal Palace to Stamford Bridge on Sunday, looking to continue their stupendous unbeaten start to the 2018-19 season. Maurizio Sarri has overseen ten successive unbeaten games thus far, and has the chance of equalling a Premier League record unbeaten run at the start of his tenure.
His prospect of achieving the same will be helped by the fact that there is just one Chelsea player in the treatment table, with Ethan Ampadu recovering from a knee injury. There are doubts as to whether Eden Hazard can start against Crystal Palace. But, the Belgian is available for selection.
Kepa Arrizabalaga is nailed on as Chelsea’s first-choice goalkeeper, and should start between the sticks on Sunday. The back four pretty much picks itself as well, with Sarri clearly defining the roles of first-team regulars and fringe players who will largely feature in cup competitions.
Cesar Azpilicueta and Marcos Alonso are the first-choice full-backs, with the latter also being a key player in the Blues’ attacking output as well. At the heart of the Chelsea defence, Antonio Rudiger and David Luiz have forged an able partnership, although the duo will hope to plug the holes at the back.
In the middle of the park, the only sticking point is the choice between Mateo Kovacic and Ross Barkley. Sarri is expected to give the nod to the Englishman, who has come into his own this season, with Kovacic being an option on the bench. The rest of the midfield unit should be completed by N’Golo Kante and Jorginho.
Up ahead in attack, the good news is that Eden Hazard is available. But, Sarri pointed out in his pre-match press conference that while the Belgian trained with the squad, he will not be able to last the entirety of the match. In fact, his words suggested that Hazard will probably be an impact substitute.
“Yesterday Eden had a large part of the training with the team. Maybe he will not be ready to play for 90 minutes at the moment, because it was the first training in the last two weeks, but probably he will be able to play for 40, 45 minutes. I will speak to him before deciding whether he starts. For us it’s important.”
With Hazard likely to start on the bench, Pedro and Willian should be the wingers for Chelsea. The final spot in the side is another bone of contention, with neither Alvaro Morata nor Olivier Giroud performing at a high level so far this season. Against Crystal Palace though, Morata could get the nod, considering he netted at Burnley last weekend.
