The end of 2017, the festive period as it is known with all the holidays which currently abound, has truly given Chelsea FC plenty of fixture congestion to deal with. In 2018, the hectic pace continues, with three games in the first 13 days of January, but there are just two more matches during the rest of the first month, and thus the workload gets substantially lightened.
Blues boss Antonio Conte has persistently hit out at the schedule makers, to the point where Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has even criticized the Italian for his complaining.
The two men are engaged in a hotly contested battle for the top four, which is really a five team race for three slots. Manchester City are off the boards, as they are on a record setting pace to win the Premier League with the best mark ever.
Shifting from the season’s big picture to the clash tomorrow against Southampton, how might Conte line ’em up? Well, his Friday news conference revealed that defender David Luiz will be gone a very long time with a knee injury.
Chelsea FC Starting XI Prediction
Goalkeeper: Thibaut Courtois
Defenders: Cesar Azpilicueta (CB), Gary Cahill (CB), Andreas Christensen (CB)
Midfielders: Marcos Alonso (LWB), Danny Drinkwater (CM), N’Golo Kante (CM), Cesc Fabregas (CM), Victor Moses (RWB)
Forwards: Eden Hazard, Alvaro Morata
Odds: Chelsea FC 2/5, Draw 4/1, Southampton 8/1
Prediction: Chelsea FC 2, Southampton 1
As always, feel free to post your own score and starting XI predictions in the comments sections.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, currently contributes regularly to WGN CLTV and the Tribune company’s blogging community Chicago Now.
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