How Chelsea Could Line Up vs Arsenal As Kalidou Koulibaly Braced For First Minutes Under Thomas Tuchel

Chelsea face Arsenal in their final game of their pre-season tour of the United States in Orlando on Sunday morning (UK).

Having defeated Club America 2-1 in their opening game in Las Vegas last weekend, Chelsea then suffered a 5-3 loss on penalties to Charlotte FC in midweek. 

The Blues had to deal with several absences in that game as Kepa Arrizabalaga, Cesar Azpilicueta, Ross Barkley and Timo Werner all missed out due to injury.

Both Werner and Azpilicueta were spotted in training on Friday, but Barkley and Kepa were not seen which leaves them as big doubts for this match. 

Tuchel will be hoping for a better display against their London rivals in their third game of the tour before they jet back home to England. 

So far this pre-season, Tuchel has flipped the sides he has played in each half, making changes across the board. It is likely we may see a lot of rotation again, but some players may get more minutes to build their match fitness with the Premier League season two weeks away.

The side that begins against Arsenal will likely be a lot stronger than the ones we have seen so far as Tuchel will be looking to make important decisions with the start of the season getting closer.

With that in mind, here is the potential Chelsea starting line up: Mendy, Chalobah, Silva, Koulibaly, James, Jorginho, Gallagher, Chilwell, Mount, Sterling, Havertz

Beginning from the back, Edouard Mendy is the obvious option to start, he played the full 90 minutes against Charlotte and is comfortably Tuchel’s number one choice. 

The big news in defence is that Kalidou Koulibaly is braced to get his first minutes in a Chelsea shirt since he joined earlier this month from Napoli. 

He could line up alongside Chalobah and Silva who have featured in the two other matches so far and will be hoping to get more minutes in the tank.

In terms of rotation, Levi Colwill was absent from training on Friday, which makes him a doubt to face Arsenal.

Ethan Ampadu and Malang Sarr will be hopeful of getting minutes though, with the two young guns hopeful that they can present a good case as to why they should be in Tuchel’s plans.

Reece James and Ben Chilwell seem very likely options for the wing-back spots, having both suffered injuries last season, match fitness is vital for them.

Marcos Alonso and Emerson Palmieri could feature as well, but Tuchel will be keen to see his first choice wing-back pairing as much as possible ahead of the new campaign.

In the midfield, Conor Gallagher and Jorginho will be pushing to start. The Italian is ready to beat their London counterparts, admitting pre-match: “Against Arsenal it’s never a friendly match.”

Croatian midfielder Mateo Kovacic, who started against Charlotte will see some time on the pitch as well, it's a case of who Tuchel deploys from the start.

The front-line could be made up of Mason Mount, Raheem Sterling and Kai Havertz, with Tuchel keen to figure out early on what his leading attack should be heading into the upcoming campaign. 

Sterling came on against Charlotte to make his first appearance for the Blues, and was credited by his manager for his direct, driving runs. 

Mount started off pre-season wonderfully when he scored a late winner against Club America, but for Havertz it has been a slight struggle to this stage. 

His usual composure in front of goal has been lacking, and should he want to lead from the front next season, he has a point to prove to Tuchel.

Michy Batshuayi, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Christian Pulisic, who scored Chelsea’s only goal of the game against Charlotte, will be itching for more minutes to stake their claim but that could come from the bench.

As for Werner, it may be slightly too soon due to his hamstring injury but he could still make an appearance after his return to training.

Hakim Ziyech is also an option for the west London side, who has been involved in both matches the Blues have played. 

Tuchel will be hoping for a professional outing and much improved display from his side.

Speaking to Sky Sports, he slammed them for their lack of effort in the second half versus Charlotte.

“If you want to maintain your position, you need to improve,” shared the German.

“We have to do our homework, the teams are not sleeping.

“We need to be more competitive than we are at the moment.”

It is a massive opportunity for the players to step up and impress the head coach in what will be the most important match of their pre-season so far, before heading back to Cobham in preparation for the final friendly against Udinese in Italy at the end of the month.