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Predicted Chelsea XI to face Crystal Palace: Cucurella & Kante out as Aubameyang & Havertz get nod for Potter's league opener

Home> Absolute Chelsea

Updated 13:22 4 Jan 2023 GMTPublished 16:15 30 Sep 2022 GMT+1

Predicted Chelsea XI to face Crystal Palace: Cucurella & Kante out as Aubameyang & Havertz get nod for Potter's league opener

Chelsea face Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park in Graham Potter's first Premier League match as head coach.

Nick Emms

Nick Emms

Chelsea face Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park in Graham Potter's first Premier League match as head coach since replacing Thomas Tuchel.

The Blues parted company with Tuchel at the beginning of September and acted swiftly to bring Potter in.

The Englishman has had a long wait for his first Premeir League match in charge of the Blues, having over 20 days between his appointment and the clash against Crystal Palace on October 1.

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Potter has, however, had his first taste of action as Blues head coach, drawing 1-1 against FC Salzburg in the Champions League just days after his appointment.

Chelsea manager Graham Potter (centre), with assistant managers Anthony Barry (left) and Billy Reid during a training session at Cobham Training Centre. (Alamy)
Chelsea manager Graham Potter (centre), with assistant managers Anthony Barry (left) and Billy Reid during a training session at Cobham Training Centre. (Alamy)

The 47-year-old will be searching for his first win as head coach as he takes on familiar opponents in Palace, Brighton's rivals.

Delivering team news, Potter revealed: “They're fine in terms of coming through the rehab stages and NG (N'Golo Kante) has been on the grass. Maybe next week for him. Bit of illness for Marc Cucurella.

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"Edou is a bit further on, but hasn’t had enough to be involved at the weekend. Maybe next week for him."

Carney Chukwuemeka is also unavailable for selection, admitted Potter.

Therefore, there are sure to be several changes to the line-up for the clash.

Predicted Chelsea XI to face Crystal Palace: Kepa, Fofana, Silva, Koulibaly, Jorginho, James, Mount, Kovacic, Sterling, Havertz, Aubameyang

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Kepa Arrizabalaga was handed a start against FC Salzburg in the absence of Edouard Mendy.

The Senegal international was suffering with a knee injury, leaving Kepa as the main choice for Potter and he is likely to start once again as Mendy remains sidelined.

Opting for the experience of Cesar Azpilicueta against Salzburg, Potter may opt to recall both summer signings Welsey Fofana and Kalidou Koulibaly.

With Cucurella likely to be absent and having featured on the left of the back three against Salzburg, this could be the perfect opportunity for Koulibaly, who has previously admitted his desire to succeed under Potter.

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Raheem Sterling and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang celebrating. (Alamy)
Raheem Sterling and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang celebrating. (Alamy)

Lining up in a likely 3-1-4-2, Jorginho is the obvious choice to play in the deeper midfield role.

Mateo Kovacic and Mason Mount started ahead of him previously and are likely to do so again with Kante injured.

Reece James and Raheem Sterling are likely to retain their places out wide, although Ben Chilwell could be handed the nod on the left.

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This leaves a front two of Kai Havertz and Pierre-Emerich Aubameyang, with Armando Broja knocking on the door for a start.

However, with Havertz's impressive two-goal performance against England on international duty, he is likely to keep his place.

Featured Image Credit: Alamy

Topics: Chelsea, Graham Potter, Crystal Palace, Football, Premier League

Nick Emms
Nick Emms

Digital Content Editor for Absolute Chelsea. Multimedia Sports Journalism Graduate. Experience: Charlton Athletic.

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@NJEmms

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