It’s a trip to the Liberty stadium this weekend as Chelsea face a Swansea side starting to gain momentum after coming from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 against Stoke. The blues on the other hand still remain unbeaten in the league under Hiddink, stretching it to 14 games after a convincing win against bottom of the league Aston Villa.
The season is pretty much over for Chelsea, but new challenges await the squad with the arrival of Antonio Conte in the summer. Guus Hiddink has spoken about rotating the squad for the remainder of the season, giving some of the youth a chance – Charlie Colkett, Ola Aina & Kasey Palmer have travelled with the squad to Wales.
Chelsea had a heavily rotated squad last time out and it worked so Hiddink could utilize it again against Swansea.
Here is my predicted XI:
Goalkeeper
Asmir Begovic: After an incredible start to the season, Begovic has taken a back seat to Thibaut Courtois since the Belgians return from injury but now that Courtois future at the club is now uncertain, Begovic  could be given an ‘audition’ to prove himself to the incoming manager: Antonio Conte.
Defence
RB – Cesar Azpilicueta: The Spaniard has been key for Chelsea all season, so he will not be one of the players dropped to accommodate some of the fringe players. Ola Aina could be up for contention but it’ll be very unlikely the young Englishman plays from the start.
RCB – Branislav Ivanovic: Terry remains out injured so Ivanovic will continue his role as captain in the centre of defence.
LCB – Matt Miazga: The American was a surprising inclusion last weekend but put in an impressive performance which warrants a place in the starting XI against Swansea. Gary Cahill faces late fitness test but it will be unlikely that he plays.
LB – Abdul Baba Rahman: Baba will be a starter this weekend with Azpilicueta out on the right and Ivanovic in the middle.
Midfield
CDM – John Obi Mikel: The African Zidane is a master of his position and has become an important player since the return of Hiddink and has been the holding midfielder we’ve been crying for. An incredible piece of play lead to the first goal last weekend as Mikel wriggled his way put 3 defenders and passed the ball out wide to Azpilcueta who assisted Loftus-Cheek.
RCM – Cesc Fabregas: The midfield maestro will be the first name on the team sheet with his incredible vision and eye for a world class pass.
LCM – Ruben Loftus-Cheek: Football should be a meritocracy, therefore Loftus-Cheek should start. The young Englishman bagged his first Premier league goal for his childhood club and dictated the play with his powerful figure, pushing Aston Villa aside. I would be baffled if he is not included this week.
Attack
RW – Pedro: After two goals last weekend, Pedro is starting to look like the player he once was at Barcelona. Willian is starting to look out of form after an explosive start to the season; the Brazilian has only got 2 goals and 1 assist in his last 10 games so he deserves another games rest.
LW – Kenedy: The young Brazilian struggled last weekend but deserves a second chance to redeem himself against Swansea.
CF – Alexandre Pato: The duck vs the Swans. Pato came off the bench last weekend and contributed to all four of the goals so deserves to start again this weekend. Costa is also suspended for this game after his antics in the FA cup against Everton.
