Chelsea v Norwich City is the first of six Premier League matches to take place on Saturday, with kick-off at Stamford Bridge at 12:30 BST.
As was inevitable, there are a handful of notable benchings to report from Thomas Tuchel’s latest teamsheet.
Marcos Alonso (£5.9m) is only a substitute for the third Gameweek in a row, while Andreas Christensen (£5.1m) and Cesar Azpilicueta (£6.2m) make way from the side that defeated Brentford 1-0 last week.
The non-inclusion of Alonso in the Chelsea XI means that the in-form Ben Chilwell (£5.7m), the most-bought Fantasy Premier League (FPL) defender of Gameweek 9, is given another start at left wing-back.
Antonio Rudiger (£5.8m) and Thiago Silva (£5.5m) are back in the side after missing out last weekend, while Reece James (£5.5m) gets a run-out at right wing-back for only the second time in six Gameweeks.
Kai Havertz (£8.1m) looks poised to lead the line in the absence of the injured Timo Werner (£8.6m) and Romelu Lukaku (£11.6m), with the ‘out of position’ German joined by Mason Mount (£7.4m) and Callum Hudson-Odoi (£5.3m) in the hosts’ attack.
Alonso, Lukaku and Azpilicueta are three of the five most-owned Chelsea assets in FPL, with Edouard Mendy (£6.1m) and Rudiger the only others with double-digit ownerships.
Chilwell and Havertz are the most-backed within the top 10k, however – and Havertz has been handed the armband by over 11% of these leading managers, with only Mohamed Salah (£12.8m) captained by more:
As for Norwich, who are without the ineligible loanee Billy Gilmour (£4.4m) today, they are unchanged yet again following a recent upturn in performances in Daniel Farke’s new 3-5-2 set-up.
GAMEWEEK 9 LINE-UPS
Chelsea XI: Mendy, James, Rudiger, Thiago Silva, Chalobah, Chilwell, Jorginho, Kovacic,Mount, Hudson-Odoi, Havertz.
Substitutes: Arrizabalaga, Alonso, Christensen, Loftus-Cheek, Saul, Barkley, Ziyech, Azpilicueta, Sarr.
Norwich City XI: Krul, Aarons, Kabak, Hanley, Gibson, Giannoulis, Lees-Melou, Normann, McLean, Sargent, Pukki.
Substitutes: Gunn, Rupp, Dowell, Rashica, Tzolis, Sorensen, Williams, Idah, Omobamidele.
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9 months, 29 days agoHello Havertz, my old friend
I've come to Captain you again
Because a vision softly creeping
Of a hattrick left Norwich weeping
And the vision that was planted in my brain
Still remains
Within the sound, of Havertz
And in the naked light, I saw
Ten thousand people, maybe more
People shunning without thinking
People avoiding without listening
People signing guys, whose returns just won’t be there
And no one dared
To hear the sound, of Havertz
"Fools", said I, "You do not know
Havertz with no Werner grows
Hear my words that I might teach you
Take my arms that I might reach you”
But my words, like silent raindrops fell
And echoed,
In the sound, of Havertz
So with Lukaku, Werner’s blown
And Havertz steps up front alone
Beneath the halo of the armband
Receives the ball and then he turns his man
When the net was stabbed by the flash of a quick toe poke
A thunderbolt
That echoed, with the sound, of Havertz
And then the people bowed and prayed
To the Havertz God they made
And then Kai flashed out his warning
In the words that he was forming
And then Kai said, "The words of the prophets are written on the Cobham Walls,
My Norwich Haul"
Is whispered, in the sound, of Havertz