Chelsea will take on European rivals Barcelona during Tuesday’s pre-season friendly at the Saitama Stadium in Japan. The Blues have experienced a mixed pre-season campaign under new manager Frank Lampard and they have won just one of their three matches.
As such, Lampard will want his team to produce a stronger performance against the Spanish champions, and it won’t be a surprise, if some of the players are offered more than 45 minutes of playing time under their belt.
Team News:
N’Golo Kante has been sidelined since the beginning of pre-season with a minor knee problem, and he has now been sent back to the club’s Cobham base to continue his rehabilitation. Elsewhere, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Antonio Rudiger remain out of contention as they recover from their long-term injuries while Willian is similarly unavailable with a minor hamstring concern.
Formation: 4-2-3-1
Predicted Lineup:
Kepa Arrizabalaga missed the previous game for the Blues through an illness (stomach bug) and he is still waiting for his first piece of action in pre-season. In this case, we are fancying deputy Willy Caballero to start the game between the sticks.
In the defence, Lampard is likely to go with the first-choice combination. Cesar Azpilicueta and Marcos Alonso are the preferable options for the right and left-back roles respectively, while Kurt Zouma could continue to partner David Luiz at the heart of the backline.
In the centre of the park, Jorginho will be aiming to continue from his dominant performance against Kawasaki Frontale and he could be partnered by Mateo Kovacic, who has started the last two pre-season games under Lampard.
Mason Mount was slotted into the number 10 position against Kawasaki and he may continue in the same position with Christian Pulisic and Pedro featuring on the left and right side of the attack respectively.
Pulisic has already shown that he can adapt to a left-sided position with the United States and he has the opportunity to settle into a similar role with the Blues ahead of his maiden Premier League campaign.
Upfront, Michy Batshuayi seems Lampard’s preferred choice in leading the line. The Belgian has impressed with his workrate in the past three games, but has been unlucky with just one goal to show for the efforts.
Predicted Chelsea XI: Caballero, Azpilicueta, Zouma, Luiz, Alonso, Jorginho, Kovacic, Pedro, Mount, Pulisic, Batshuayi