Robert Sanchez, Wesley Fofana, and Cole Palmer will be among the Chelsea players returning to the starting lineup against Arsenal at the Emirates on Sunday.
Chelsea will aim to steer clear of Manchester City and the other contenders for the top-four spots when they lock horns with Arsenal at the Emirates on Sunday afternoon. Enzo Maresca has no new issues hampering his preparations ahead of his side’s latest fixture.
Noni Madueke, Nicolas Jackson, and Marc Guiu remain the only players in the treatment room due to hamstring injuries, although the trio should return after the international break. Meanwhile, Maresca is sweating over the availability of Reece James (illness) and Malo Gusto (ankle).
However, Wesley Fofana and Romeo Lavia should continue making giant strides towards becoming regulars, with the former expected to start again. Meanwhile, during his pre-match press conference, Maresca confirmed the starting goalkeeper for Sunday’s game against Arsenal.
The Chelsea manager said, “Yes, it will be Robert playing against Arsenal. I’ve said many times we are happy with both goalkeepers. But sometimes, you have to be flexible. Since we started, the idea wasn’t to change the goalkeeper but you have to be flexible; we do this with the game plan, the way we want to attack and defend, but we also have to be flexible with players [changing the personnel].”
So, Robert Sanchez will replace Filip Jorgensen between the sticks, with the away side lining up in a 4-2-3-1 formation in front of him against Arsenal at the Emirates on Sunday. Maresca will ring in the changes after rotating his troops for the game against FC Copenhagen in the UEFA Europa Conference League earlier this week.
The backline should feature Wesley Fofana, Tosin Adarabioyo, Levi Colwill, and Marc Cucurella. So, Reece James and Malo Gusto will likely miss out for Chelsea this weekend. As for the midfield unit, there is no looking past Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez in the double pivot.
Cole Palmer will likely reprise the no. 10 role, with Jadon Sancho and Christopher Nkunku being the two wide attackers. Palmer has been under the weather in the last few days and will be raring to go against Arsenal. Finally, Pedro Neto will lead the line for the away side this weekend.
Predicted Chelsea XI: Sanchez; Fofana, Tosin, Colwill, Cucurella; Caicedo, Fernandez; Sancho, Palmer, Nkunku; Neto
