Predicted Chelsea lineup against Bournemouth: Palmer to start; Joao Pedro misses out

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Share on XShare on Facebook Cole Palmer will be fit enough to feature in the Chelsea starting lineup when they host Bournemouth at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.

Chelsea will be desperate to end a three-game winless run in the Premier League when they welcome Bournemouth to Stamford Bridge on Saturday afternoon. Xabi Alonso has received a mixed bag of updates on the team news front ahead of his side’s latest fixture.

Cole Palmer has trained this week and should be fit and available to take on Bournemouth after missing England duty during the international break. Meanwhile, Reece James, Moises Caicedo, and Marco Palestra are in contention to feature after stepping up their recoveries.

However, Joao Pedro (knee) and Jamie Gittens (ankle) remain on the sidelines, though the former should be fit enough to return next week. Meanwhile, during his pre-match press conference, Alonso provided fitness updates on James, Palestra, Caicedo, Palmer, and Joao Pedro.

The Chelsea manager said, “Yes, he [Caicedo] is ready to go. We have used the time with Moi to get him back fit. He has been training well and he is okay to go. They [James, Palmer, and Pedro] have all been able to train, some of them earlier than others – and Marco Palestra as well. That was the plan.”

“We knew that going into Brentford we had some players struggling but they have trained well and are ready to go. He [Palmer] has trained the last week and has felt better. We didn’t want to rush because we had the time. What is most important for Cole is to be fully fit and that he enjoys his game and is feeling okay.”

Emiliano Martinez is an automatic pick between the sticks, with Chelsea lining up in a 4-2-3-1 formation in front of him against Bournemouth on Saturday. The central defensive unit will feature Wesley Fofana, Maxence Lacroix, and Levi Colwill, with Pedro Neto and Jorrel Hato being the two wing-backs.

As for the midfield unit, Romeo Lavia should line up alongside Jordan Henderson in the middle of the park, with Moises Caicedo being a backup option on the bench. Finally, Danny Welbeck will deputise for Joao Pedro as the central striker, with Cole Palmer and Morgan Rogers completing the numbers in the offensive unit.

Predicted Chelsea XI: Martinez; Fofana, Lacroix, Colwill; Neto, Lavia, Henderson, Hato; Palmer, Rogers; Welbeck