Chelsea lineup vs. Johor Darul Ta-zim: Predicted XI for pre-season fixture as Xabi Alonso set to name different XI

Xabi Alonso is expected to name an entirely-different Chelsea XI for Sunday's friendly against Johor Darul Ta-zim.

The Spaniard witnessed the Blues record a comprehensive 3-0 victory over AC Milan in Saturday's showdown in Malaysia.

Robert Sanchez, Josh Acheampong, Wesley Fofana, Jorrel Hato, Moises Caicedo, Romeo Lavia, Marco Palestra, Cole Palmer and Joao Pedro played at least 79 minutes and are unlikely to be involved.

A lack of full-backs means that Alonso may be in two minds whether to stick with the back three that worked against AC Milan or switch to a four.

If there is an insistence to see how certain players feature in a 3-4-2-1 formation like on Saturday, it may result in two of Jamie Gittens, Estevao Willian or Mykhaylo Mudryk being used as wing-backs.

Geovany Quenda may also be in contention, despite the 32-minute outing that he received against AC Milan.

Dario Essugo and 16-year-old Mahdi Nicoll-Jazuli should feature in the engine room, while Dastan Satpaev and Liam Delap can expect starts in the final third.

Despite his positive impact as a 59th-minute substitute versus AC Milan, Nicolas Jackson may be kept in reserve at kickoff.

Chelsea possible starting lineup:

Penders; Sarr, Adarabioyo, Subolaye; Gittens, Essugo, Nicoll-Jazuli, Estevao; Walsh, Satpaev; Delap