This is a Chelsea predicted lineup for their first jaunt into the knockout rounds of the Club World Cup. After rotating fairly heavily against ES Tunis, there should be a return to normality against Benfica. The real question is whether Enzo Maresca returns to his first-choice eleven from the Premier League or if he continues to use different combinations during this off-season tournament.
Chelsea Predicted Lineup vs Benfica for Club World Cup Tie
How Chelsea Have Lined Up Recently
Robert Sanchez and Filip Jorgensen have started in goal with the former being the preferred option. The back line has seen Malo Gusto play on the left and right side of defence, Marc Cucurella, Levi Colwill, Tosin Adarabioyo, Benoit Badiashile, Trevoh Chalobah, Reece James, and Josh Acheampong have also gotten starts.
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James has also started in midfield where Romeo Lavia, Enzo Fernandez, and Moises Caicedo have usually been deployed. Cole Palmer, Enzo, and Christopher Nkunku have played through the middle with Palmer also playing on the right. Pedro Neto and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall have also played on the right wing where there seems to be a gap opened for someone to make it their own.
Noni Madueke and Tyrique George have played off the left. Nicolas Jackson started the tournament opener but has since been replaced by Liam Delap in his absence.
Chelsea Recent Form and Tactics
Maresca continues to use his 4-2-3-1 base which shifts in possession and moves players around. He’s experimented in this tournament with different ideas, he’s had a double pivot with the left-back inverting into the number ten space, he’s put Palmer out right with Gusto moving up, he also had the heavily rotated Tunis squad which saw the right-back move beside Lavia while Enzo pushed forward beside Nkunku.
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The testing period has had some successes and some failures. The mishmash lineup and unusual player roles proved costly against Flamengo, where the team were completely unsure of where to be and when, allowing their opponents to slice them open on the counter. Against LAFC, they looked ok despite a different setup. It was with their usual roles against Tunis that the squad looked most comfortable, dominating possession and the match in a 3-0 win.
Chelsea Injuries to Consider
Jackson is suspended after his red card against Flamengo was upgraded to a two-match ban.
Chelsea Predicted Lineup vs Benfica
The manager did show his hand a little with his selection and substitutions in the last outing. There are some nailed-on first-teamers who were rested completely and will presumably rotate back in for this important match.
GK – Robert Sanchez
LB – Marc Cucurella
CB – Levi Colwill
CB – Trevoh Chalobah
RB – Reece James
DM – Moises Caicedo
DM – Enzo Fernandez
AM – Cole Palmer
W – Noni Madueke
W – Pedro Neto
ST – Liam Delap