Chelsea FC Restarted Season Preview, Best Starting XI

Another milestone in Project Restart was reached today when the FA announced the upcoming fixture schedule! It’s been about three months since we’ve seen live football in England, but the light at the end of the tunnel is very bright now.

With that in mind, let’s commence our restarted season previews, complete with a best potential starting XI. Up first is Chelsea FC.

Next Match: June 21 at Aston Villa (Premier League), FA Cup quarterfinal tie vs. Leicester City June 28

Current Position: fourth in the table, three points ahead of Manchester United, still alive in the UEFA Champions League, but in a very deep hole to Bayern Munich in the knockout round.

Transfer Noise: in advanced talks with Timo Werner, reportedly very close to signing the RB Leipzig striker. Go here for the All Transfer Rumor XI and the Optimal XI with key players retained, transfer targets added.

Got Healthy from the Very Long Break: Tammy Abraham is fully fit again. Christian Pulisic is now completely fully fit, having not been seen in action since suffering a nasty adductor injury

Season Goals: stay in the top four, win the FA Cup, with the UCL, yeah, uhm they’re not going anywhere in that competition

Keys to Reaching those Goals: Their best player, midfielder N’Golo Kante, may or may not play due to safety concerns stemming from the coronavirus pandemic. Obviously the Blues will be much better off if they have him in action, but health comes first. With or without him, they need to find creativity again and avoid the scoring droughts that they’ve struggled with at times.

The Blues started hot, but then opponents kind of figured them out. Manager Frank Lampard must find a way to make his young, promising players develop faster.

Also, can Kepa Arrizabalaga, the most expensive goalkeeper in history find his place back into the first team?