How Chelsea will line up in 2024-25

Cameron Smith

• 6 Aug 2024 14:00 BST
• 3 min read

It’s all change yet again at Chelsea and the Blues will begin the new season with Enzo Maresca as their head coach.

The Italian guided Leicester City to promotion from the Championship last year, and his modern approach of playing out from the back will grace the Stamford Bridge turf in 2024-25.

Chelsea will be looking to build on the sixth-place finish they managed last campaign, and the west London club have already spent over €100 million on new signings so far this summer.

READ MORE: Premier League summer transfers 2024 - All the Done Deals

The Blues have failed to qualify for the Champions League since Clearlake Capital’s arrival in 2022, despite over €1 billion being spent on players, and they will look to rectify that drought this year.

Below, FootballTransfers runs through Chelsea’s predicted starting XI for the 2024-25 Premier League season.

READ MORE: Chelsea's 10 most expensive transfers of all time

How Chelsea will line up in 2024-25

Robert Sanchez is expected to begin the new season as Chelsea’s number one goalkeeper, although new signing Filip Jorgensen could well displace the Spaniard.

Reece James will miss the opening three matches of the campaign through suspension, but he will be the Blues’ first-choice right-back when available.

Marc Cucurella is likely to be chosen on the opposite flank, however Malo Gusto may be given the nod after featuring in that position during pre-season.

Tosin Adarabioyo, Axel Disasi and Wesley Fofana are competing for a starting spot as Chelsea’s right centre-back and the former has been most heavily favoured in pre-season, so he is likely to keep his spot.

Levi Colwill will also start at centre-back, with Benoit Badiashile as his back-up.

A midfield trio of Romeo Lavia, Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez will likely be deployed by Maresca, while Cole Palmer and Raheem Sterling will provide width on the flanks.

Noni Madueke will play a key role too, but the ex-PSV star may be restricted to cameo appearances in the Premier League and a larger role in the Europa Conference League.

Christopher Nkunku could well lead the line.

Nicolas Jackson is also likely to be given a prominent role, although his lack of minutes in pre-season, due to injury, may ensure he starts the season on the bench.

Alternatively, Nkunku could be deployed in midfield, to allow Jackson to start up front, which would result in either Lavia, Caicedo or Fernandez being dropped.

Chelsea’s predicted starting XI this season

GK: Robert Sanchez

RB: Reece James

CB: Tosin Adarabioyo

CB: Levi Colwill

LB: Marc Cucurella

CDM: Romeo Lavia

CM: Moises Caicedo

CM: Enzo Fernandez

RW: Cole Palmer

ST: Christopher Nkunku

LW: Raheem Sterling