Chelsea start a new era tomorrow evening as they welcome Red Bull Salzburg to Stamford Bridge in Graham Potter's first game in charge.
Potter was appointed as Blues head coach last week, taking over from Thomas Tuchel. The latter, Tuchel, saw his tenure come to an end following the 1-0 defeat to Dinamo Zagreb in Chelsea's UEFA Champions League opener last Tuesday, and Potter will be hoping to lead his new squad to their first points in the competition on Wednesday night.
So many questions face Potter this early on. Nobody, perhaps not even Potter, realistically knows what the new head coach has in his head in terms of his favoured team for tomorrow night's clash.
He had a bit more time than usual to work with his new squad after the weekend's round of Premier League fixtures were postponed following the passing of Her Majesty The Queen. So, with this being said, football.london's trio of Chelsea writers, Adam Newson, Bobby Vincent and Daniel Childs, have given it their best shot at predicting the line-up for Wednesday evening.
Adam Newson
There always tends to be a surprise selection when a new head coach takes charge, and I expect that will be no different for Graham Potter's first game in charge of Chelsea.
Would Kepa Arrizabalaga count as that? Ordinarily, yes. But the Spaniard is set to start in goal for Chelsea with Edouard Mendy struggling with an injury – the Senegal international didn't train this morning ahead of the visit of Salzburg and is expected to miss the game.
I don't expect Potter to deviate away from the back three utilised by Tuchel. That would mean starts for Wesley Fofana, Thiago Silva and Kalidou Koulibaly. Reece James is the standout choice at right wing-back, and Marc Cucurella, who worked with Potter at Brighton, may get the nod ahead of Ben Chilwell on the opposite flank.
How Potter sets up his midfield will be intriguing; the English coach could go with a two or three. I suspect we'll see the latter with Jorginho, Mateo Kovacic, and Mason Mount deployed behind a front two of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Raheem Sterling.
Adam's team: Kepa; Fofana, Silva, Koulibaly; James, Mount, Jorginho, Kovacic, Cucurella; Aubamayang, Sterling
Bobby Vincent
It's a complete guess to predict this line-up, let's be honest. It sometimes felt like that with Tuchel, but Potter's first game in charge? Even more so.
During his time at Brighton, we saw that he likes to use a three-back formation, so that is unlikely to change. What could be different, however, is the front-line. Potter often used a 3-5-2 down on the south coast, taking away from the number of attackers but solidifying the midfield.
The back-three almost picks itself at this point. Wesley Fofana, Thiago Silva and Kalidou Koulibaly – on paper – look to be the best available back trio. Kepa Arrizabalaga looks set to start with Edouard Mendy injured, so the back four is perhaps the most obvious to choose from.
Midfield and the attack is where it gets more difficult. If he was to go for a 3-5-2, then we could see Mason Mount, Mateo Kovacic, and Jorginho start in a three-man centre midfield. That's what I think Potter will go for.
Bobby's team: Kepa; Fofana, Silva, Koulibaly; James, Jorginho, Kovacic, Mount, Cucurella; Aubameyang, Sterling.
Daniel Childs
This is like throwing a dart towards a dartboard, but the lights are all turned off. There is little chance of getting this prediction right, with Graham Potter likely to spring a few surprises.
I think he will stick with a three-man defence, but the midfield shape is of most intrigue, given he favoured a box setup that looked like a 3-5-2 at Brighton. I'm gonna lean with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Raheem Sterling starting as a striking pair, with Marc Cucurella and Reece James the wing-backs. In midfield against a high-energy Salzburg who plays four in midfield and two strikers, Mateo Kovacic and Mason Mount's energy will be needed.
For a wildcard, I think Denis Zakaria might feature, but who knows? Maybe Potter will try to conjure Expecto-4-4-3.
Daniel's team: Kepa; Fofana, Thiago Silva, Koulibaly; James, Jorginho, Zakaria, Kovacic, Cucurella; Sterling, Aubameyang
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