Manchester United, Burnley, Manchester City, Crystal Palace, Everton, Liverpool, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur stars make up Paul Merson’s non-Chelsea XI.
Former Arsenal attacker Paul Merson has picked a Premier League XI for Sky Sports which he believes is good enough to beat Chelsea.
Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea team are on course to winning the Premier League title this season.
The Blues have been the best team in England this campaign and also have the best squad in the country.
Merson has now picked a starting line-up comprising of non-Chelsea players which he deems will get the better of the London outfit.
This is how the 47-year-old former England international’s team looks:
David de Gea
Kieran Trippier – Vincent Kompany – Scott Dann – Leighton Baines
Jordan Henderson – Michael Carrick
Alexis Sanchez – Wayne Rooney – David Silva
Harry Kane
It is a 4-2-3-1 formation and has some names which will raise many Premier League football followers’ eyebrows.
While Manchester United trio David de Gea, Michael Carrick and Wayne Rooney would pretty much walk into any non-Chelsea XI, the presence of Arsenal forward Alexis Sanchez and Tottenham Hotspur’s Harry Kane is a given.
Liverpool midfielder Jordan Henderson’s presence in central midfield does not come as a surprise either.
Burnley star Kieran Trippier’s presence at right-back ahead of Everton’s Seamus Coleman will come as a surprise to many, though.
Explaining his decision, Merson told Sky Sports: “Right-back was a coin toss between Kieran Trippier and Seamus Coleman, but I’ve gone for Trippier, because this team has got to have a real go.
“You’re never going to beat Chelsea if you just sit back, and Trippier is very good at getting forward.”
Merson explained that he picked Crystal Palace centre-back Scott Dann because the 28-year-old “would be big enough to fight with him (Diego Costa) and ruffle him up at the same time”.
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