Costa Out, Drogba In: Predicted Chelsea Starting XI To Face Spurs

Chelsea will be hoping to get back to winning ways when they take on Tottenham at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night. This is the side I think Jose Mourinho will select:

Goalkeeper: Thibaut Courtois is now the established No.1 at Chelsea so there’s no reason to assume the Belgian won’t continue to keep Petr Cech out the side.

Defence: Jose Mourinho has no fresh injury worries to contend with so he’s expected to stick with his favoured back four of Branislav Ivanovic, Gary Cahill, John Terry and Cesar Azpilicueta. If Mourinho does decide to make a change it will likely see Filippe Luis come in for Azpilicueta at left-back, but I don’t see it happening against Spurs.

Midfield: Cesc Fabregas has been sensational following his move from Barcelona and he’ll no doubt relish playing against his old foes, Tottenham, who he enjoyed plenty of success over during his time at Arsenal. The Spaniard will once again partner Nemanaja Matic in the middle of the park.

Attack: The big decision Mourinho has got is who should replace Diego Costa, with his star striker suspended after collecting his fifth booking of the season against Sunderland. Loic Remy would offer more pace up front but I think we could see Didier Drogba start as the focal point up front with Remy brought on as a sub. Eden Hazard and Oscar should keep their places but if Mourinho wants to mix things up in attack then Andre Schurrle or Ramires could come in for Willian – but I think he’ll stick with the hard-working Brazilian.

So this is how I think Chelsea will line-up against Spurs:

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What do you think of our team and what side would you put out?