It will not be clear in what fashion Tuesday's dramatic but effectively devastating loss to Real Madrid in the Champions League has impacted Thomas Tuchel's squad until kick-off on Sunday.
Although the defeat at the Bernabeu was tinged in regret, it also showcased the tactical excellence we have previously seen under Tuchel with this group of Chelsea players. It was an inspirational evening, which boasted more positives than negatives, and even if the Blues led the tie with 15 minutes to go, there is hope the good of Tuesday can provide the right energy for the FA Cup semi-final against Crystal Palace.
And Tuchel was eager to stress the "huge boost" in confidence in winning 3-2 at the Bernabeu on the night, whilst contrasting the reality of their Champions League title defence ending.
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"It is a weird feeling. We had a huge task to go to Madrid – to win by a minimum of two goals to make it to extra time or three goals to win in a knockout game at Bernabeu." Tuchel told reporters on Friday morning. "This was a fantastic performance and stayed like this, but it still tastes bitter because we are out of the Champions League. In both legs, we made too many individual mistakes, and too many got punished by individual quality."
Sunday's clash with Patrick Vieira's Eagles might place Chelsea as the favourites, but Palace has already shown their strength against superior opposition. Beating Manchester City at The Etihad before holding them to a 0-0 draw at home. Their latest win, a 3-0 dismantling of Arsenal, showcased their threats from set-pieces and speed on the break.
The key factor in all four of those games was the presence of Conor Gallagher, who will be unavailable on Sunday after Chelsea rejected a request from Palace for the midfielder to play in the game on loan from Chelsea. Without Gallagher's ferocious pressing and goal threat from midfield, Vieira loses something tactically, but as Palace showed at Selhurst Park against the Blues in February, there are still players that will threaten Tuchel's defence.
Team News
Except for Ben Chilwell and Callum Hudson-Odoi, Tuchel confirmed everyone else has trained. Romelu Lukaku, who missed the last two games with an Achilles issue, is ready to be involved in Sunday's squad.
Tuchel's approach
Although Palace will present a more awkward low-block, looking to starve Chelsea of space, I would not be veering too far away from what has worked in the previous two games against Southampton and Real Madrid. The level of pressing, the speed in passing from midfield and aggression with a high defensive line allow Tuchel's counter-pressing to go up another level.
The attacking trio of Timo Werner, Kai Havertz and Mason Mount has only been used four times this season. But on those four occasions, Chelsea scored 15 goals. Six of those can be attributed to a hapless Southampton defence last Saturday, but given the level of chemistry seen, it would feel flippant to move away from that so quickly.
The Oppo
This season, Gallagher has contributed eight goals, arriving late in the box from the right of a 4-3-3 or, more recently, a 10 in a 4-2-3-1. His 12.3km covered in the Manchester City draw was the most by a Palace player in the Premier League this season. Replacing that work rate and quality will be hard.
Last time against Chelsea, Vieira played a 4-2-3-1 with Cheikhou Kouyate, and James McArthur sat behind a trio in the midfield of Jordan Ayew, Michael Olise and Jeffrey Schlupp. Wilfried Zaha played as the central attacker. Zaha and Olise's pace caused the Blues most issues in the first half on the break, with both players having good chances to score but missing.
You would expect Palace to target similar areas again, expected to enjoy fewer possession mistakes from Chelsea's midfield, which could cost Tuchel as they did in the Champions League.
The Lineup
As mentioned earlier, Werner, Havertz and Mount all should start – with Mount operating more centrally behind the German strike pair. Mateo Kovacic has solidified himself as the first choice after another impressive display on Tuesday. Although N'Golo Kante's form has sparked critique, I would still go for the Frenchman over Jorginho with the threat of Palace's attacking speed.
Reece James played his role against Vinicius Jnr. to perfection in a back-three, and Tuchel may be tempted to do similar to mitigate Zaha's runs from the left. Ruben Loftus-Cheek has shown encouragement in a right wingback role, with Marcos Alonso coming back into form on the other side.
Although a return for Kepa Arrizabalaga seems realistic, it was interesting to see Tuchel stick with Mendy against Middlesbrough in the quarter-final. With this competition now the last chance for more silverware this season, I'd still expect the Senegal keeper to remain.
Predicted lineup: (3-4-1-2) Mendy, James, Silva, Rudiger, Loftus-Cheek, Kovacic, Kante, Alonso, Mount, Werner, Havertz
