Chelsea play their penultimate game of the 2019-20 pre-season tour against Red Bull Salzburg on 31st July, coming close on the heels of a hectic 4-3 win over Reading a few days ago. Manager Frank Lampard has rotated his side throughout pre-season, giving everybody in his squad a chance to shine, including players like Danny Drinkwater and Tiémoué Bakayoko – the former, who didn’t play a single game last season, while the latter was sent out on loan.
Chelsea have two more matches before the season opener against Manchester United, playing Red Bull Salzburg and then Borussia Mönchengladbach.
Let’s take a look at the probable lineup that Lampard may put out against RB Salzburg on Wednesday.
Goalkeeper
Willy Caballero started for Chelsea against Reading last time around as Lampard rotated his goalkeepers, but we could see the return of Kepa Arrizabalaga against Salzburg.
Defence
Lampard will expect better from his defence than their performance against Reading where they let in three goals. Fikayo Tomori and Andreas Christensen let in just one goal when they started together in the first half, but the second half centre-back pairing of David Luiz and Kurt Zouma allowed Reading to score twice. We could see Luiz and Christensen at the heart of the defence against Salzburg.
At right-back, we could see the return of César Azpilicueta, who also came on in the second half against Salzburg, while Emerson, who had a great second half against Reading could play at left-back.
Midfield
Mateo Kovacic and Jorginho will most likely be Lampard’s first-choice midfield pairing, at least until N’Golo Kante is out injured, and they will most likely start against Salzburg. Mason Mount and Ross Barkley both impressed against Reading, with both players getting on the scoresheet, the former scoring a second-half brace. Mount could get the nod over Barkley for Tuesday night’s game.
Attack
Tammy Abraham also had a very good second half against Reading and he could start in place of Olivier Giroud for Chelsea. Kenedy and Christian Pulisic were impressive against Reading with their direct running and pace, and they could start alongside Abraham on the wings for Chelsea.
