Lukaku starts | Expected Chelsea line-up vs Arsenal

Chelsea welcome London rivals Arsenal to Stamford Bridge for Wednesday’s Premier League encounter.

The Blues recently progressed to their third-straight FA Cup final after a 2-0 win over Crystal Palace at Wembley Stadium.

The club have now won three straight games in all competitions. On the contrary, Arsenal have lost their last three league matches.

Chelsea should go into the London derby as favourites. They won the reverse meeting by a comfortable 2-0 score back in August.

Here is how Chelsea could line up against Arsenal:

Goalkeeper: Edouard Mendy has been the undisputed first-choice goalkeeper for the Premier League and Champions League games. The Senegal star also got the backing to start ahead of Kepa Arrizabalaga in the FA Cup semi-final on Sunday. He is expected to continue in goal against Arsenal.

Defence: Thiago Silva should be reinstated into the starting XI after his late cameo appearance off the bench at the weekend. He could be partnered by Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen. The latter had an impressive first half at Wembley, making up for Jorginho being dispossessed in the centre of the park.

Reece James played on the right side of central defence on Sunday as Cesar Azpilicueta operated as the right wing-back. The latter could drop to the bench against Arsenal. James should reclaim his preferred role, having tormented the Gunners with a goal and an assist last time around.

Marcos Alonso should be an undisputed starter at left wing-back for Chelsea. Ben Chilwell is out for the campaign following a knee surgery while Malang Sarr and Saul Niguez have struggled to impress from the advanced defensive position. Alonso likes to face Arsenal with three goals from eight league meetings.

Midfield: Mateo Kovacic looks set to be sidelined for a period of time after twisting his ankle against Palace. His replacement Ruben Loftus-Cheek had a wonderful outing, bagging the opening goal with a superb half-volley in the 65th minute. The England star should be rewarded with a start.

Loftus-Cheek could be accompanied by N’Golo Kante rather than Jorginho. Kante has been inconsistent lately, and there were no surprises that he was only a second-half substitute for Chelsea. However, he may still get the nod over Jorginho whose slow decision-making saw him dispossessed several times.

Lukaku to lead the line

Attack: Mason Mount continued his fine run of form, netting Chelsea’s second goal against Palace. In the last three games alone, he has managed a stunning six goal contributions. Alongside him in attack should be Timo Werner, who has been in sparkling touch of late.

The German netted twice at Southampton before scoring against Real Madrid. He was impressive with his runs behind the Palace backline on Sunday, and eventually bagged an assist for Mount’s goal. The solitary change could see Kai Havertz drop to the bench.

Havertz has drawn blank for successive matches. Tuchel could be tempted to start Romelu Lukaku against Arsenal. The Belgian had a tremendous second debut against them back in August as the backline struggled to handle his physicality. He bagged a goal and an assist.

Expected Chelsea line-up (3-4-2-1) vs Arsenal