The people's choice against Arsenal: Nkunku if Palmer can't go

11/10/2024 03:27 AM

Chelsea vs. Arsenal, Premier League: Preferred lineup

All eyes (and perhaps most of our hopes) are on the fitness of Cole Palmer for today's top-four showdown against Arsenal, but given that Palmer still wasn't practicing just a couple days ago, it's probably unlikely that he plays, let alone that he starts.

So if Palmer can't go, who should replace him in the usual "A" lineup?

For the WAGNH Community, the answer is fairly straightforward: a like-for-like swap with Christopher Nkunku. Now obviously that two players are not exactly alike, but in theory they both play best in a No.10/support striker/central attacking midfielder role. (Though Nkunku rarely gets to play as one.)

Palmer did collect 36% of the vote, which is the 12th most, despite the questions about his fitness, still beating out the likes of João Félix (32%), Enzo Fernández (24%), and Mykhailo Mudryk (16%) — all of whom could potentially factor into a solution to replace Palmer in the lineup.

Hopefully we don't have to replace him, but if we do:

4-2-3-1 (80%)
Sánchez (78%) | Cucurella (87%), Colwill (98%), Fofana (92%), James (95%) | Caicedo (99%), Lavia (88%) | Neto (89%), Nkunku (36%), Madueke (63%) | Jackson (95%)