Chelsea’s preseason wrap-up and Premier League opener

Chelsea’s Possible Starting XI

Vs Crystal Palace (3-4-3): Edouard Mendy; Cesar Azpilicueta, Thiago Silva, Antonio Rudiger; Reece James, Jorginho, Matteo Kovacic, Ben Chilwell; Mason Mount, Kain Havertz, Timo Werner.

Tuchel confirmed in his pre-match press conference that Chelsea would be without Hakim Ziyech and Romelu Lukaku against Crystal Palace.

Meanwhile, the German also raised fresh concerns over the fitness of N’Golo Kante, who played midweek in the Super Cup win against Villarreal.

In the absence of Lukaku, it is expected that Havertz leads the lines alongside countryman Werner and Mount.

Trevoh Chalobah, who put in an excellent display against Villarreal, is unlikely to feature from the start, having played the entire 120 minutes in the cup on Wednesday.

This means that Chelsea will be without their ‘best’ eleven against Crystal Palace in the league opener. However, the Blues are expected to be at full capacity – barring Ziyech – against Arsenal the week after.

Over the course of the campaign, Chelsea’s line-up is expected to change heavily from game to game, given that the Blues will be competing in five different competitions.

However, they have enough strength in depth to challenge for honors on multiple fronts and, barring any major catastrophes, even win a few.