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Chelsea – Liverpool combined XI

By David Cambridge

LONDON, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 16: Adam Lallana of Liverpool and Eden Hazard of Chelsea during the Premier League match between Chelsea and Liverpool at Stamford Bridge on September 16, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 16: Adam Lallana of Liverpool and Eden Hazard of Chelsea during the Premier League match between Chelsea and Liverpool at Stamford Bridge on September 16, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images) /
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LONDON, ENGLAND – JANUARY 22: Ngolo Kante of Chelsea in action during the Premier League match between Chelsea and Hull City at Stamford Bridge on January 22, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – JANUARY 22: Ngolo Kante of Chelsea in action during the Premier League match between Chelsea and Hull City at Stamford Bridge on January 22, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images) /

Central midfield: N’Golo Kante

N’Golo Kante’s recent transition from tireless midfield lynch-pin at the centre of Leicester’s Premier League success to tireless midfield lynch-pin at the centre of Chelsea’s Premier League success has been just about as seamless as everyone expected. The Frenchman has picked up exactly where he left off from last season, forming a formidable partnership with Nemanja Matic this term in much the same way he did with Danny Drinkwater in the colours of Leicester.

Admittedly, there are more gifted options for this role among both squads – both Cesc Fabregas and Georginio Wijnaldum, who has been one of the Reds’ success stories this year, immediately spring to mind – but what Kante lacks in technical skill, he more than makes up for with his boundless energy and exemplary reading of the game (that’d be why he started over more eye-catching teammates for France at the European Championships, helping them reach the final on home soil).

After they were made to endure such a disastrous season last year, the Frenchman’s take-no-prisoners style has endeared him not only to the Stamford Bridge crowd, who have been waiting for a player to replace the departed Michael Essien, but also the Chelsea playing staff.

Kante’s insatiable appetite for competition is simply infectious, and when he lurches forward for coordinated high press, you know his teammates are about to follow suit. It’s no surprise that his arrival in West London has coincided with the Blues returning to English football’s top-table, and another appearance in the PFA Team of the Year looks guaranteed.

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