Cardiff City vs Chelsea: Maurizio Sarri's Best Available Blues Lineup

Chelsea travel to Wales to face Cardiff City in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon, looking to return to winning ways after the international break. A

Chelsea travel to Wales to face Cardiff City in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon, looking to return to winning ways after the international break.

A disappointing 2-0 defeat away to Everton gave Maurizio Sarri a lot to ponder over the last fortnight, as the race for the top four enters its final stretch with Chelsea in sixth place.

Some strong individual displays from Callum Hudson-Odoi, Ross Barkley and Olivier Giroud for their respective countries may force the Blues boss to alter his team selection and give starting spots to those who deserve it.

However, Sarri is not one for picking players based on form and continues to opt for players he trusts, regardless of their performances, so Chelsea fans shouldn't expect any different this weekend.

Here's how the Blues could line up against Cardiff.

Goalkeeper and Defenders

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Kepa Arrizabalaga (GK) - Earned a start for Spain against Malta on Tuesday night, keeping a clean sheet in a 2-0 win.

Cesar Azpilicueta (RB) - Missed out on a Spanish call up, Azpilicueta has spent the last two weeks at Cobham for some much needed recovery time.

Antonio Rudiger (CB) - Grabbed an assist for Germany in their dramatic win over the Netherlands last weekend.

David Luiz (CB) - Another who missed out on a national team selection, Luiz should be fully fit to make his 29th league start of the season.

Emerson Palmieri (LB) - Following Alonso's dismal display against Everton, Emerson should get the nod at left-back after a fortnight at the training ground.

Midfielders

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Jorginho (DM) - Started both games for Italy as they comfortably beat Liechtenstein and Finland in their opening Euro 2020 qualifiers.

N'Golo Kante (CM) - Everyone's favourite midfielder, Kante hasn't missed a Premier League game this season.

Ross Barkley (CM) - A brace and an assist for England against Montenegro should push Barkley ahead of Mateo Kovacic in Sarri's starting lineup.

Forwards

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Pedro (RW) - Callum Hudson-Odoi can be forgiven for thinking his England performance will have earned him his first Premier League start, but Sarri remarkably only watched 20 minutes so Pedro it is.

Gonzalo Higuain (ST) - Another who is likely to start based on favouritism more than merit, given Giroud's haul of four goals in his last four games.

Eden Hazard (LW) - Chelsea's main man earned his 100th cap for Belgium last week, scoring three goals over the two games.