Chelsea predicted lineup vs Man City - FA Cup
By Tom Gott
Chelsea will hope third time truly is the charm when they face Manchester City in the FA Cup third round on Sunday.
The Blues were eliminated from the Carabao Cup by City in November, before falling 1-0 to Pep Guardiola's side in the Premier League this past Thursday. The latest defeat included an impressive performance from Chelsea but, as has been the case this season, it wasn't enough.
With a mounting injury list to contend with, here's the lineup Graham Potter could select to try and keep Chelsea's silverware dream alive.
Chelsea predicted lineup vs Man City (4-3-1-2)
GK: Kepa Arrizabalaga - With Edouard Mendy still out, Kepa will get the chance to make up for his poor decision which led to City's winner on Thursday.
RB: Cesar Azpilicueta - It would be great to see young Dion Rankine handed some minutes here, but the veteran Azpilicueta will likely get the nod.
CB: Trevoh Chalobah - Unfortunate to find himself out of the team recently, Chalobah will step in and allow Thiago Silva to rest.
CB: Kalidou Koulibaly - Wesley Fofana is injured and Benoit Badiashile won't be rushed into action, so expect Koulibaly to get another start.
LB: Marc Cucurella - Lewis Hall has proven himself capable of playing for Chelsea but the teenager, who isn't actually a left-back anyway, may have to accept an appearance off the bench behind Cucurella.
CM: Jorginho - Susprisingly out of the lineup on Thursday, Jorginho has a tough job matching Mateo Kovacic's performance level from the last game.
CM: Denis Zakaria - The biggest turnaround of the season, Zakaria has quietly been Chelsea's best midfielder over the past few games. That purchase option isn't looking so foolish now.
CM: Carney Chukwuemeka - Chukwuemeka enjoyed what felt like a breakout performance against City and nearly capped it off with a goal. The 19-year-old is ready for more responsibility.
AM: Hakim Ziyech - Losing Raheem Sterling, Christian Pulisic and Mason Mount to injury in the space of around 24 hours isn't ideal for Potter, whose attacking options are incredibly slim.
ST: Kai Havertz - Havertz impressed in his free-roaming role last time out and will probably take up a role as some sort of AM/ST hybrid.
ST: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang - Substituted on and off in the same game (which has been blown out of proportion considering he came on after five minutes), Aubameyang will be keen to prove himself to his critics.