Chelsea are scheduled to face Hull City on the road in Saturday’s FA Cup fourth round tie. Blues boss Frank Lampard is expected to make multiple changes to the starting lineup after two Premier League games for the club in the space of one week.
Willy Caballero has only featured in the Cup matches this season and the veteran should get another chance to play in goal on Saturday.
In the defence, Marcos Alonso may come in for Emerson at left-back but captain Cesar Azpilicueta is likely to retain his spot on the right side of the defence with Reece James yet to recover from the ankle knock sustained earlier this month.
At the heart of the backline, Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen should drop to the bench, which would mean starts for Kurt Zouma and Fikayo Tomori. In the midfield, Mateo Kovacic should keep his place, considering he has been the least used among the trio of Jorginho and N’Golo Kante in the past few weeks.
He may be accompanied by Ross Barkley and Mason Mount, though the latter may feature in an advanced attacking midfield role for the Blues at the KCOM Stadium. In the attack, Pedro is a likely candidate to feature on the left wing after previously doing so during the 2-0 win over Nottingham Forest in the previous round of the FA Cup.
On the opposite flank, Frank Lampard may go with the experience of Willian, who is in need of confidence after a couple of lacklustre performances against Newcastle United and Arsenal. Upfront, Michy Batshuayi will lead the line for Chelsea FC. Lampard has confirmed the same through the news conference where he also mentioned that Tammy Abraham is available with an ankle concern.`
Predicted Chelsea lineup: (4-2-3-1): Willy Caballero, Cesar Azpilicueta, Kurt Zouma, Fikayo Tomori, Marcos Alonso, Mateo Kovacic, Ross Barkley, Willian, Mason Mount, Pedro, Michy Batshuayi