Chelsea manager Antonio Conte faces a tricky selection on Wednesday night as his side take on Serie A outfit Roma in the UEFA Champions League.
The Blues will be without trio Victor Moses, Alvaro Morata and N’Golo Kante, who are all out with hamstring injuries, as well as new signing Danny Drinkwater, who is still suffering from a calf strain which has kept him out of action since joining the club in the summer transfer window.
Conte’s men go into the game against Roma off the back of a shock defeat against Crystal Palace on Saturday afternoon, with Wilfried Zaha’s return being a happy one for Eagles fans as they downed champions Chelsea at Selhurst Park.
Roma are a dangerous side with plenty of star quality, including the talents of Radja Nainggolan, former Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko and tricky winger Stephan El Sharaawy.
With injuries in key areas, Conte will need to shuffle his pack. Here’s who we think will start for Chelsea on Wednesday night…
GK: Thibaut Courtois
An obvious choice between the sticks.
CB: Cesar Azpilicueta
The Spaniard is one of the first names on the teamsheet.
CB: David Luiz
Reports have suggested he could move into midfield but we expect him to stay in the back three.
CB: Gary Cahill
The captain continues to keep Antonio Rudiger out of the starting eleven.
RWB: Davide Zappacosta
An injury to Victor Moses gives the Italian some time to make this spot his own.
CM: Tiemoue Bakayoko
The Frenchman will be tasked with keeping close to Radja Nainggolan, who will likely operate in a box-to-box role.
CM: Cesc Fabregas
Bakayoko’s midfield partner will be looking to dictate tempo against an organised Roma side.
LWB: Marcos Alonso
The Spaniard will be key at both ends of the pitch, with plenty to keep an eye on up against Alessandro Florenzi.
RW: Willian
There’s plenty of competition out wide at Chelsea so Willian needs to play at his best every time he’s picked from the start.
CF: Eden Hazard
After a poor display from Michy Batshuayi at the weekend, it would be reasonable to suggest that Eden Hazard could start in a central role against Roma.
LW: Pedro
With Hazard through the middle, Pedro would be the likely candidate to take the Belgian’s place on the left flank.
