Chelsea will host FC Porto in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final on Tuesday, and will head into the tie with a 2-0 advantage.
The Blues put in a dominating performance in the Premier League on Saturday by beating Crystal Palace. They won 4-1, courtesy of goals scored by Kai Havertz, Kurt Zouma, and Christian Pulisic.
Porto, on the other hand, came away with a comfortable 2-0 victory over Tondela, and closed the gap on Sporting Lisbon. The Portuguese side will need to score at least two away goals at Stamford Bridge to stay in contention for the semi-finals of the Champions League.
Chelsea Team News
Chelsea have no injuries or second leg suspensions. Tammy Abraham is also available for selection, but the competition for places is pretty strong at the moment.
After missing the clash against Crystal Palace due to a suspension, a fresh Thiago Silva might return to the Chelsea lineup come Tuesday.
Predicted Chelsea Lineup vs Porto (3-4-2-1)
Defence
Edouard Mendy will start for Chelsea in the goal. He was barely tested in the last Premier League outing, as Palace took just one shot and score with it.
A 23-man Chelsea squad has touched down in Seville! 👊#CHEPOR
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) April 12, 2021
Cesar Azpilicueta, Thiago Silva, and Andreas Christensen are expected to play as the three centre-halves in the Chelsea lineup. They will need to make sure that both Sergio Oliveira and Mehdi Taremi don’t find any space in the defensive third.
Midfield
We expect N’Golo Kante and Mateo Kovacic to control the midfield as the two central midfielders forming the double pivot.
Both Reece James and Ben Chilwell should feature in the right-wing back and left-wing back positions. James and Chilwell have been contributing to the attacking game plan of Tuchel effectively, and make smart runs.
Predicted Chelsea Lineup vs FC Porto
The two make good overlapping runs, and that will be useful as a counter-attacking weapon against Porto who will need to attack come Tuesday.
Attack
Mason Mount and Hakim Ziyech will play as the right and left attacking midfielders. Ziyech is yet to show his true colours for the Blues, but he might get the nod because of his impressive displays in cup competitions of late.
Timo Werner will be the central striker, and completes our predicted Chelsea lineup.