In a news conference after the Champions League draw with Barcelona, Chelsea FC manager Antonio Conte might have tipped his hand as to how he’ll line up his attack when his side heads to the Camp Nou for the away leg of their tie. It’s safe to say that he’ll probably maintain that formation and plan of attack when his side visits Manchester United on Sunday in a Premier League match with huge top four implications.
It’s also the first time Conte will meet face to face with Jose Mourinho since the two men waged their prolonged war of words shortly after 2018 began. Will there be a dust-up on the touchline?
I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.
Getting back to the formation in the Chelsea attack, star forward Eden Hazard said that although he’ll happily play wherever he’s told, Conte is misusing him when he’s placed as a false number nine. Hazard says he’s at his best when he’s out wide instead.
Of course, Hazard played really well versus Barca, and his front line teammate Willian played outstanding, so we shouldn’t expect Conte to go away from something that seems to be working pretty well right now.
The Sports Bank’s Chelsea FC Starting XI Prediction:
Willian, Eden Hazard, Pedro
Marcos Alonso, Cesc Fabregas, N’Golo Kante, Victor Moses
Antonio Rudiger, Andreas Christensen, Cesar Azpilicueta
Thibaut Courtois
Odds: Chelsea 5/2, Draw 23/10, United 13/10
Injury Report for both teams: go to this link
Jose Mourinho, Antonio Conte press conference videos, go to these links: Mourinho, Conte
Prediction: United 1, Chelsea 0
Feel free to post your own Chelsea and/or Man United starting XI predictions, as well as your best guess as to what the final score will be.
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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