Mount starts as Alonso and Azpilicueta miss out for Chelsea

Mason Mount (£6.8m) has come through his injury concern to start Chelsea’s Gameweek 12 meeting with Crystal Palace.

The midfielder sustained an injury against Ajax midweek but keeps his place in the line-up, although it is unclear which role he will play this afternoon.

Mount could either be in the central midfield trio of a 4-3-3 or as the number 10 in a 4-2-3-1.

His return to fitness means that Callum Hudson-Odoi (£5.9m) stays on the bench for a third Premier League match in a row as Christian Pulisic (£7.4m) and Willian (£7.2m) start on the flanks.

However, the most surprising news from Stamford Bridge is in the full-back areas.

Emerson Palmieri (£5.5m) starts at left-back with Marcos Alonso (£6.3m) absent from the matchday squad.

Meanwhile, club captain Cesar Azpilicueta (£5.9m) drops to the bench to allow the incredibly promising youngster Reece James (£5.0m) to start at right-back, just days after scoring an important Champions League goal.

That means that Fikayo Tomori (£4.8m) and Kurt Zouma (£4.7m) retain their places at centre-back.

Roy Hodgson looks to have reverted to 4-4-2 following their 2-0 defeat to Leicester last time out.

Andros Townsend (£5.6m) comes in for Jeffrey Schlupp (£5.5m) to play on the left side.

The formation also looks capable of playing of switching to a 4-3-3 to match up Chelsea if need be, with Townsend able to push forward and join Wilfried Zaha (£6.7m) and Jordan Ayew (£5.1m) in attack.

Crucially, Martin Kelly (£4.1m) is on the bench for the fourth match in a row with James Tomkins (£5.0m) and Gary Cahill (£4.5m) preferred at centre-back, the latter making a return to Stamford Bridge after seven years there as a player.

Chelsea XI: Kepa; Emerson, Tomori, Zouma, R James; Kanté, Kovačić; Pulisic, Mount, Willian; Abraham.

Crystal Palace XI (4-4-2): Guaita; van Aanholt, Cahill, Tomkins, Ward; Townsend, Kouyaté, Milivojević, McArthur; Ayew, Zaha.

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