Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri has seen his job status intensively speculated upon all season long, so why should that change now with one game to play? The Italian, who is still looking for the first major trophy of his coaching career, says that he would quit the club if his job hinged on the Europa League final against Arsenal next week.
It would seem very odd, his getting the sack if they lose at the Baku Olympic Stadium on Wednesday night. After all, he’s already secured UEFA Champions League qualification for Chelsea next season (the expected goal for the season), regardless of the result here.
In terms of what Sarri decides to do with his starting line-up in this match, one could expect him to start Olivier Giroud over Gonzalo Higuain at striker. The Frenchman, who recently signed a contract extension, is the leading scorer with ten goals in the tournament for the Blues.
N’Golo Kante has suffered a new injury this week, and he’s now a doubt for this match. So we went ahead and changed our XI accordingly.
The Bank Chelsea FC Starting XI Prediction Championship Sunday
Attack: Eden Hazard, Olivier Giroud, Pedro
Midfield: Ross Barkley, Jorginho, Mateo Kovacic
Defense: Cesar Azpilicueta, David Luiz, Andreas Christensen, Emerson Palmieri
Goalkeeper: Kepa Arrizabalaga
Chelsea vs Arsenal UEFA Europa League Final FYIs
Kickoff: Wednesday, May 29, 8pm, Baku Olympic Stadium
Referee: Gianluca Rocchi
Injury Report for Both Sides: go to this link
Starting XI Predictions: Chelsea Arsenal FC
Odds via Bet Fair: Chelsea win 4/6, Arsenal win 6/5
Prediction: Chelsea 3, Arsenal 2
Picking the Blues as we believe it will be Eden Hazard’s final match with the club, and a world-class player like that will be motivated to go out with a trophy.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” regularly appears on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, also contributes to Chicago Now. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram. The content of his cat’s Instagram account is unquestionably superior to his.