• April 16, 2022
• Olaoluwa Nwobodo

Chelsea travel to Wembley to take on inform Crystal Palace for the second final place spot in the FA Cup. Liverpool knocked out Manchester City in a tie that the Merseyside club nearly fumbled after winning the game 3-2 despite going 3-0 up early on. Thomas Tuchel has already reached two finals this season and won one. He would want to reach a third final and set things right considering he reached the final of this competition last season and lost to Leicester City. Chelsea has some injuries but most of the first team players are fit, so who does Tuchel trust to see off Crystal Palace?

Goalkeeper: Kepa Arrizabalaga, the cup keeper

Tuchel has not given Arrizabalaga many minutes recently and this is a rare opportunity to. Mendy started the last FA Cup game, surprisingly. It would be interesting to see who Tuchel selects between the sticks because this is a semifinal. Tuchel trusts his two main goalkeepers, but this is the business end of the competition and any keeper he goes with would be understandable.

Defenders: Does Christensen return to the backline?

Andreas Christensen was dropped for the second leg of the Real Madrid game, a decision that proved to be the right one, all things considered. Tuchel needed someone with more pace and perhaps physicality to deal with the threat of Vinicius Jr. down Chelsea’s right flank. He opted to go with Reece James at right centerback, but it’s more likely that the Denmark international starts at right centerback in this one.

The usual culprits Thiago Silva and Antonio Rudiger would partner Christensen in the centerback partnership. Crystal Palace has a smart team, so Chelsea’s defense would need to be on top of their game, something they’ve not been in the last two weeks.

Midfielders: Kante-Kova pivot with Alonso and James on the flanks

This is the pivot Tuchel went with against Real Madrid. The only problem was leaving N’Golo Kante on for much longer than he should’ve. Kante wasn’t great in that match, but then again Kante hasn’t been great in his last three games in all competitions and Tuchel has continued to start him so maybe the boss sees things differently. Mateo Kovacic was good against Real Madrid in the 3-2 win, however many exaggerate how good he actually was.

Marcos Alonso and Reece James were outstanding against Real Madrid. Truly outstanding. Chelsea doesn’t have options in the wingback department and this is why Tuchel has rested his main wingbacks whenever possible. Alonso came on as a substitute against Crystal Palace in the last game they played to assist Hakim Ziyech with a perfect cross. Alonso also scored against these same opponents in the opening game of the season. James has been one of Chelsea’s most influential players this season. He contributes to every aspect of play for Chelsea including goal scoring.

Forwards: Werner again alongside Ziyech and Havertz

Timo Werner was Chelsea’s best player against Real Madrid. He scored and assist and was constantly making sure that the Real Madrid defenders were looking over their shoulders. Werner has found his rhythm and the sensible thing to do would be to continue to play him while he’s still hot. Werner’s confidence took several hits this season and the past few games have seen him score, assist and create chances. His confidence is returning and it’s hard to deny that confident Werner is very useful to Chelsea. See Southampton vs Chelsea (Premier League) and Real Madrid vs Chelsea (UEFA Champions League).

Hakim Ziyech likely starts this game as he has been starting from the bench – undeservedly so – in the past few weeks. If Tuchel decides to stick with the 3-4-1-2 formation Ziyech would be very productive occupying that number 10 role. For reference see the UEFA Super Cup final against Villarreal where Ziyech had the Europa League champions on strings playing as the sole attacking midfielder in a 3-4-1-2.

Kai Havertz starts again by default. He has been Chelsea’s most consistent goal threat in the last two months. At 15 goals, Havertz is still Chelsea’s highest goal scorer in all competitions this season.

Prediction: Arrizabalga, Christensen, Silva, Rudiger, James, Kovacic, Kante, Alonso, Ziyech, Havertz, Werner

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