Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Football London
Football London
Sport
Alan Smith

Chelsea predicted XI vs Crystal Palace: N'Golo Kante returns as forward misses out

Thomas Tuchel has no fresh injury concerns ahead of Chelsea's short trip to face Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park this evening and N'Golo Kante could be in line for a recall to the starting XI having come off the bench in Wednesday night's 2-0 Champions League win against Porto.

The Brazilian defender Thiago Silva is the only definite absentee having been sent off in last Saturday's defeat to West Bromwich Albion, the team's first reverse since Tuchel took charge in late January, meaning a three-man defence of Cesar Azpilicueta, Andreas Christensen and Toni Rudiger are set to continue with Kurt Zouma in reserve.

Reece James and Ben Chillwell will continue in the full back roles, while Kante could replace Mateo Kovacic in midfield having come off the bench on Wednesday night following a minor hamstring issue.

Thomas Tuchel on Tammy Abraham, Kai Havertz and Chelsea loans

There will be no place in the XI for Tammy Abraham, however, with Tuchel saying the striker has become a victim of circumstances.

Timo Werner and Kai Havertz will likely get another opportunity up front with in-form Mason Mount sure to start but Christian Pulisic, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Hakim Ziyech are all pushing for a starting slot too.

"We have 22 players on the training pitch and it's very, very hard to select the 18 players for Premier League matches," Tuchel said yesterday. "We can only change three times but in the offensive position it is always part to have a huge impact in only some minutes."

Chelsea team vs Crystal Palace: Edouard Mendy; Cesar Azpilicueta, Andreas Christensen, Toni Rudiger; Reece James, N'Golo Kante, Jorginho, Ben Chilwell; Mason Mount, Kai Havertz, Timo Werner.

Kick-off at Selhurst Park is 5:30pm and the game is live on Sky Sports but you can follow all the action in our live blog

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.