How Chelsea Could Line up In Graham Potter's First Match in Charge of The Blues

How Chelsea Could Line up In Graham Potter's First Match in Charge of The Blues

Fred Kennedy
updated at April 12, 2023 at 8:11 PM
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  • Graham Potter is set to take charge of Chelsea for the first time on Wednesday night when the Blues host RB Salzburg in the Champions League
  • The new Chelsea boss is expected to name a strong side for the clash as he looks to kick off his reign at the west London club on a positive note
  • Potter is likely to employ his favoured 3-5-2 formation that could see Raheem Sterling and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang lead the attack

Graham Potter is set to kick off his reign as the new Chelsea boss on Wednesday, September 13, when the Blues take on RB Salzburg in the Champions League.

Potter was appointed the new Chelsea boss late last week, succeeding Thomas Tuchel, who was shown the door after a slow start to the new season.

Chelsea, Champions League, Stamford Bridge, RB Salzburg, Graham Potter.
Armando Broja, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Christian Pulisic, Matt Birnie, Marc Cucurella, Trevoh Chalobah and Conor Gallagher of Chelsea during a training session in Cobham. Photo by Darren Walsh.
Source: Getty Images

Chelsea's Premier League clash against Fulham last weekend should have been Potter's first in charge, but its postponement compelled Blues fans to wait until midweek before they could watch the English boss on the touchline.

The west London club are scheduled to host Salzburg at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night, in a much they should win to get their Champions League campaign back on track after they lost their opening match against Dinamo Zagreb.

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Given how crucial the tie is, Potter is expected to name a strong team to face the Austria side as he hopes to kick off his Chelsea reign on a positive note.

How Chelsea could line up vs RB Salzburg

The 47-year-old is likely to settle on his favoured 3-5-2 formation, which could see Kalidou Koulibaly, Thiago Silva, and Wesley Fofana play in a back three - with Edouard Mendy starting in goal.

Reece James is expected to be deployed at right wing-back, with Marc Cucurella starting on the left.

In midfield, Mateo Kovacic could be paired with Jorginho, as Mason Mount gets a chance to impress in attack alongside Raheem Sterling and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

Chelsea's possible starting XI vs Salzburg:

Goalkeeper: Edouard Mendy

Defenders: James, Fofana, Silva, Koulibaly, Cucurella

Midfielders: Jorginho, Kovacic, Mount

Forwards: Sterling, Auba

Thomas Tuchel finally opens up after ruthless Chelsea sack

Earlier, Sports Brief reported that Thomas Tuchel has broken his silence following his brutal sack as Chelsea boss.

Tuchel was shown the exit door at Stamford Bridge on the back of his side's shock defeat to Dinamo Zagreb in their Champions League opener on Tuesday.

The German tactician was made to pay the ultimate price after he supervised a stuttering start to the campaign, which continued in Europe.

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Fred Kennedy
Fred Kennedy has a Bachelor's degree in journalism (Daystar University), currently working as a Sports Editor. He has more than five years of experience in digital journalism.
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