Antonio Conte could reinstate Alvaro Morata as the striker upfront for Chelsea as they host Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Saturday.
Chelsea have endured back-to-back defeats at the hands of the Manchester clubs, both being narrow losses, but body blows in their pursuit of a top-four finish, as they find themselves five points adrift of fourth-placed Tottenham. They will be looking to close the gap though, as they host Crystal Palace on Saturday.
Thibaut Courtois should be the man in goal. In fact, the entire defence is likely to remain intact, with Cesar Azpilicueta, Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen making up the back-three.
Victor Moses and Marcos Alonso are likely to don the wing-back roles on either side. But, it is the midfield, where Conte is strapped for options. Tiemoue Bakayoko is injured while Ross Barkley has failed to prove his fitness till date.
N’Golo Kante did not feature against Manchester City and could be rested against Crystal Palace as well, which means we could see the pairing of Cesc Fabregas and Danny Drinkwater in midfield once again. As far as attack is concerned, Eden Hazard is a certain starter, but his position is still under doubt.
Antonio Conte readdressed the situation, stating that there are certain matches where the manager feels Hazard’s presence upfront adds much to Chelsea’s attacks. And the manager also stated that in the matches that is not the case, he will field a natural striker.
Conte was also asked about Olivier Giroud in his pre-match conference and the potential of him starting the match.
“Olivier has specific characteristics; he’s a strong player, he has a lot of physicality and I think in some games it’s right to start with him, in others it’s right to start with Morata, in others it’s right to continue to play with Hazard as the number nine. Olivier played against West Brom from the start, he played against Hull and he came on in other games, but he’s ready.”
“If I think it’s right for the team to play in this way it’s okay, otherwise I can take another decision to play with a striker.”
Ideally for this match, Conte is likely to field Alvaro Morata in attack, with Pedro likely to be the one to make way for his compatriot.
