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Alright so Chelsea’s coming up tonight and honestly I got sucked into trying to guess Ancelotti’s starting eleven. Man always keeps us guessing, right? Figured I’d jot down how I went about trying to crack this thing, see if I got anywhere close.
Where I Started This Madness
First thing? Pure panic mixed with excitement. Woke up thinking “Tonight’s the night!” and immediately grabbed my phone while still in bed. Scrolled through all the usual suspects, those football news apps and Twitter feeds everyone shouts about. Total rabbit hole.
Everybody and their uncle seemed to have an opinion, but it was chaos. One source screaming that Alaba was definitely out injured, another showing him training pics like nothing happened. Knew I had to sort through the noise myself.
Breaking Down the Mess
Stalked all the injury reports first. That’s the big puzzle piece everyone forgets. Seemed solid that:
- Courtois was still a no-go. Big Thibs watching from the stands, sadly.
- Mendy was definitely between the sticks. No real surprise there.
- Big question mark was that back four. Alaba rumors were flying everywhere.
Had to assume he was touch-and-go at best.
Next up? Form. Who actually deserves the shirt right now? Vini Jr.? Obvious pick. On fire. Benzema? Duh. Starts if he can walk. But the midfield trio? That got messy. Modrić always there, but Camavinga and Tchouaméni battling? Kroos being Kroos? My brain hurt.
Throwing My Prediction Out There
After like an hour staring at my notes, coffee gone cold, this is what my gut finally settled on:
- Mendy (Safe pick. Who else?)
- Carvajal at RB (Steady)
- Modrić, Camavinga, Kroos midfield (Cama double-shifted in my plan!)
- Valverde tucked in somewhere (Workhorse, gotta play)
- Vini Jr. flying left
- Benzema up top (Obviously!)
Rüdiger & Alaba center-back (Punched my luck on Alaba!)
Camavinga at LB (Ancelotti loves this experiment)
Yep, squeezed Camavinga into two spots mentally. Felt risky leaving Tchouaméni cooling his heels, but someone had to give.
The Big Reveal & My Face
So lineup time rolls around… refresh, refresh, REFRESH! BAM. Team sheet hits. Scrolled down faster than anything.
Spot on with Mendy. Carvajal? Check. Center backs… Oh! Nacho partners Rüdiger! Ha! Alaba on the bench. Fooled me good! Left back? Camavinga! Called it! Midfield… Modrić, Kroos, and… Valverde central? Close! I had him wider. Forwards? Vini and Benzema nailed it. Rodrygo got the nod over the Cama-midfield idea though. Guess Ancelotti just couldn’t clone him.
Nearly punched the air! Got maybe… 7-8 out of 11 right? Not bad considering Carlo loves keeping us sweating. That Nacho–Alaba switcheroo got me good. Live and learn. At least I wasn’t the only one caught out guessing!