Chelsea are back in action looking to bounce back from its defeat at Anfield against Liverpool when it travels to Athens to face Panathinaikos in matchweek 2 of the Conference league.
Enzo Maresca has heavily rotated his squad in Cup and Conference League games so far, resting his top players for Premier League games. This game is no different, as Maresca has opted to leave Levi Colwill, Reece James, Moises Caicedo and Nicolas Jackson back in London so they can be ready for Saturday's game against Newcastle.
Those players join other regulars who won't feature in the game like Cole Palmer, Wesley Fofana and Romeo Lavia who weren't even registered in Chelsea's squad for the league phase of the Conference League.
Even considering the absences, the Blues still have more than enough talent to defeat a team that currently sits sixth in the Greek Super League. Chelsea's squad depth is a strength of the team and Maresca has done his best to take advantage of it.
Here's how Chelsea could lineup against Panathinaikos in the Conference League.
Chelsea Predicted Lineup vs. Panathinaikos (4-2-3-1)
GK: Filip Jörgensen—The Danish goalkeeper has been Chelsea's cup goalkeeper since his arrival this summer from Villarreal. He cleared concussion protocols after suffering a head injury playing for Denmark's U-21 team.
LB: Renato Veiga—The Portuguese international surprisingly missed the starting XI against Liverpool because of James's season debut. He's been solid playing as a left-back, scoring his first Chelsea goal in the team's last Conference League game vs. Gent.
CB: Benoît Badiashile—The 23-year-old Frenchman appears to be Levi Colwill's clear backup. After showing plenty of promise during his first months with the Blues, he seems to have fallen in the depth chart since the arrival of more prominent center-backs such as Colwill.
CB: Tosin Adarabioyo— Adarabioyo started against Liverpool and struggled with the speed of the Reds attacking players.
RB: Axel Disasi—Signed as a center back, Disasi has played most of his minutes lately as a right-back allowing both Gusto and James some rest. He had an assist against Gent.
CM: Enzo Fernández—Fernández might be in grave danger of seeing his minutes in the Premier League drop. Caicedo and Lavia were bright spots in the defeat at Anfield and Fernández seems to be the odd man out. The 2022 World Cup champion must take advantage of this opportunity to show Maresca he's still one of the best midfielders in the club.
CM: Kieran Dewsbury-Hall—The former Leicester City player followed Maresca to Chelsea in the summer and looked sharp in the game against Gent, scoring his first goal for the Blues.
LW: Mykhaylo Mudryk—Many thought the speed and directness of the Ukrainian could be valuable against Liverpool, but Maresca didn't even include him in the squad. Mudryk must begin to put together strong performances or his Chelsea future might be in question.
AM: Joao Félix—Félix has only scored once since returning to Chelsea. With Palmer as his main competition, there's no clear path for him to get more minutes in the league.
RW: Pedro Neto— Neto played 45 minutes after coming on for Jadon Sancho over the weekend after the Englishmen couldn't find a way past Trent Alexander-Arnold. If he continues to put in strong performances in the Conference League, then both Sancho and Noni Madueke could give way for him in the Premier League.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Chelsea Predicted Lineup vs. Panathinaikos: UEFA Conference League.
