Chelsea have returned to England after their pre-season tour of Asia, and will have three more pre-season matches before their Premier League opener against Manchester United.
The Blues face off against Reading on 28th July at the Madejski Stadium, followed by games against Red Bull Salzburg, and Borussia Mönchengladbach.
Manager Frank Lampard will want to try out new players as well as give his potential starting lineup more playing time to link up well with each other.
Let’s take a look at the lineup with Lampard could put out against Reading on Sunday.
Chelsea’s No. 1 goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga played the last friendly game against Barcelona, starting his first pre-season game of the 2019-20 season. He will most likely continue in goal for Lampard’s side on Sunday.
David Luiz and Andreas Christensen started in defence against the Catalan giants last time around, and we could maybe see Luiz – who is going to be the first-choice for Lampard in central defence next season – pair up with Kurt Zouma in defence.
Chelsea captain César Azpilicueta could start at right-back, while Marcos Alonso could get an opportunity at left-back after Emerson started the last two pre-season games.
N’Golo Kante is still out due to injury and he will not be a part of Chelsea’s team to face Reading. Jorginho, who has had a promising start to the 2019-20 season, will line-up alongside Mateo Kovačić in central midfield.
Lampard has a selection headache in the attacking midfield position; Mason Mount, who was with Lampard at Derby County last season, seems to be a key part of this Chelsea team and could start the game against Reading, but Ross Barkley’s good performance against Barcelona could afford him an opportunity to start against Reading.
Lampard has used Tammy Abraham, Michy Batshuayi, and Olivier Giroud in the striker’s position, and we could see Abraham continue up top after starting and scoring for the Blues against Barcelona.
Willian hasn’t returned from his break yet after playing for Brazil in Copa America, while Callum Hudson-Odoi is out due to injury, which means that Lampard has just three first-team wide players in Christian Pulisic, Pedro, and Kenedy.
Pulisic and Pedro could start once again against Reading, much like they did against Barcelona last time around.
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