Another test for Antonio Conte and Chelsea when they travel to Wales on Sunday afternoon, but who will keep their places in the starting XI?
It is game four for Antonio Conte at Chelsea as he comes up against fellow Italian manager Francesco Guidolin’s Swansea City, with the Welsh side looking to inflict their second win on the bounce over the Blues.
There is likely to be a selection headache once more for Conte, but who will he send out to keep his 100% record intact?
Chelsea predicted starting XI
It is set to be the same Chelsea backline that have featured in every minute of every league game so far this season at the Liberty Stadium. Despite conceding in two of the three games, the performance against Burnley demonstrated that this side are slowly coming together.
Cesar Azpilicueta, Gary Cahill and skipper John Terry have regained their form from the 2014-15 season where they won the title and despite Branislav Ivanovic still having his odd moments of defending madness, the Serbian’s form has improved to help set a solid foundation for the Chelsea side.
With Conte being tactically astute, for the likes of Marcos Alonso and David Luiz to walk straight into the side would be difficult – with possibly another week’s preparation, the duo could be ready for the Liverpool clash on Friday night.
The further up the field you go, the more questions of the Italian will be asked. Do the same midfield three start or will Cesc Fabregas force his way into the starting XI?
Given that they have won three out of three and performed so well against Burnley last time out, the trio of N’Golo Kante, Nemanja Matic and Oscar should start. Kante has given Chelsea new life in the midfield with his energy on and off the ball, with Matic and Oscar working tirelessly off the ball as well as contributing going forward.
Oscar has had an inconsistent four years at the club with many calling for the Brazilian to be sold, but he has been outstanding thus far this term under the former Juventus and Italy manager.
Two thirds of the forward line picks itself with Eden Hazard returning to his imperial best and Diego Costa back firing the goals once more. However, the right-hand side could be an issue for Conte given the fact that Willian played just over an hour for Brazil in Manaus on Tuesday night.
He would have had over four days to recover, but the travelling will cause concern meaning that Victor Moses could deputise after impressing in games against Watford, Bristol Rovers and Burnley, scoring twice in his last two outings.
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