| Premier League Preview: Chelsea Written by ad_wilkin on Sunday, 29th Dec 2024 20:24 Chelsea have the biggest squad in the Premier League thanks to Todd Boehly’s scattergun approach to transfers. The squad is so big that there are different players registered in the Premier League and the Europa Conference League. So far the experiment is looking to be a success. With just three losses all season, they have been talked about as genuine title contenders and they have six wins out of six in the Conference League. Manager Enzo Maresca will be a familiar face for Town fans having been in charge of the Leicester side that beat Town to the Championship title last season.
GoalkeepersRobert Sanchez is the Chelsea number one and the former Brighton man is having a good season. He is still prone to the odd mistake here and there but his shot stopping has been good and he’s claimed the second most crosses in the league behind Town man Arijanet Muric. He’s kept four clean sheets and will be hoping for another one here. Twenty-two-year-old Dane Filip Jorgensen was signed from Villareal in the summer and has been the man in the net for the Europa Conference League, whilst also stepping in for the Premier League game against Southampton, The depth of Chelsea’s squad is already visible with the number of goalkeepers who have made the bench with the experienced Marcus Bettinelli the third choice but 22-year-old Lucas Bergstrom and 19-year-old Max Merrick also part of the squad.
DefendersPicking a back four for Chelsea is a tricky task with Maresca not settling on a consistent line-up. He’s used midfielders at both right and left-back to implement his style of having one defender step into midfield at times but on other occasions has gone with out and out full-backs. The first name on the teamsheet in there however is Levi Colwill. The 21-year-old England International has made 16 starts. He’s completed the most passes of all defenders as he’s the out ball from that defence looking to drive into space. His dribble and pass found Cole Palmer in pocket of space for his goal against Fulham. Town will likely set up their press to target Colwill and stop that passing if they do choose to press high. The youngster can also do his defensive duties with his 50 clearances also being a high for Chelsea defenders. The next-highest league appearance-maker is Marc Cucarella. The Spaniard has made the left-back position his own following an excellent Euros and given the constant injuries that Ben Chilwell seems to keep suffering that doesn’t seem like it’s going to change. He has had a bit of a crazy December with two slips costing two goals in the 4-3 victory over Tottenham, a match that saw him change his boots mid-game. He didn’t fare much better against Brentford receiving two yellow cards and an early bath. He did score in that game though, and against Shamrock Rovers in the following Conference League match and was back in action against Fulham on Boxing Day. If Town can get at him down that side then his discipline could well be an issue. His eight yellow cards is a league high for this season with Flynn Downes and Sacha Lukic the two behind him, both on seven . With Cucurella suspended, Malo Gusto filled in at left-back. The 21-year-old Frenchman usually starts on the other side but likes to come narrow a lot with the right winger creating the width down that side making him hard to pick up. He struggled with injuries last season but with another Englishman, Reece James, also struggling once more with injuries, that right-back spot is his for the time being. That bad luck with injuries continues with Wesley Fofana, who had recovered from a cruciate ligament injury last season, picking up a hamstring problem at the beginning of December following a run of 12 starts. That’s opened the door for 27-year-old Tosin Adarabioyo, who signed over the summer on a free transfer from London neighbours Fulham. The big man has stepped in well and is averaging 4.29 clearances per 90 and has made some crucial blocks in recent games but is less comfortable on the ball than Chelsea’s other defenders. Axel Disasi and Benoit Badiashile make up the rest of the senior defenders but have largely been limited to Europa Conference League games.
MidfieldersMoises Caicedo is the best defensive midfielder in the league at the moment. His 33 tackles won is the highest in the league and his 28 interceptions put him second behind only Ryan Gravenberch. A solid defensive footing is crucial to a title challenge and Caicedo is the man to provide that for Chelsea who have only conceded 21 goals all season. That solidity allows Enzo Fernandez to play higher up the pitch and get on the ball in more advanced areas. That has already seen results with the Argentinian finding the net four time and providing three assists so far. He’s also not afraid to get stuck in to a tackle and often wins the ball high up the pitch for Chelsea. That pairing has become the consistent midfield two for Chelsea with Romeo Lavia starting here and there but missing out large chunks through injury. Chelsea’s Europa Conference League midfield pairing tends to be Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Cesare Casadei, both players Maresca worked with at Leicester last season. There’s only one choice to play ahead of them and that is Cole Palmer. The 22-year-old left the shadow of the Etihad last season and immediately became the star man at Stamford Bridge, netting 22 times and providing 11 assists. He’s already on 12 and six respectively this season which puts him second in the league for goal contributions, only behind Mohamed Salah who has a staggering 26. His goal against Fulham on Boxing Day showed all of his class, picking it up in a pocket of space, dribbling forward, shrugging off defenders and then placing a nicely disguised shot into the corner of the net. Carney Chukwumeka and Renato Veiga are two more 21-year-olds in the Chelsea squad who are mainly getting game time in the Europa Conference League.
ForwardsJadon Sancho and Pedro Neto are the two men in possession of the shirts on either wing right now. Maresca likes his wingers to keep the width that allows Fernadez and Palmer the space to get on the ball inside and Neto is excellent at that. The 24-year-old signed from Wolves in the summer to fill that gap in Maresca’s side. He loves to run at and take on his defender and his pace in behind causes nightmares. On the other side is Sancho. The Englishman burst onto the scene at Borussia Dortmund before a big money move to Manchester United. It didn’t work out for him at United but he’s on the way to refinding his best form under Maresca at Stamford Bridge. Playing on the left and keeping the width, he has the ability to go down the line or cut inside and cause damage on his favoured right foot. He’s started the last four games in a row and has scored two in his last five. With Mykhalo Mudryk potentially facing a four-year ban for failing a drug test and temporarily suspended for now, it’s Noni Madueke who provides the depth on the wings. Another young Englishman he made his international debut back in September. He has five goals and three assists in 13 starts and provides a slightly different threat to Neto down the right. He can still beat his man and go both ways but doesn’t have the same ability to run in behind as the physical Portuguese. This Chelsea side is certainly full of goals and after a slow first season with the club Nicolas Jackson has now caught fire. He managed 14 goals all of last season and already has nine this term. Like the rest of Chelsea frontline, he’s a quick and powerful runner and will stretch defences with his running into the channels. This is another way that Chelsea create space in the middle for those who are comfortable on the ball but also means they have players who can counter-attack teams in the blink of an eye. Joao Felix and Christopher Nkunku are the other squad members that can play across the frontline. Nkunku has made 16 league appearances but only two starts, often replacing Jackson off the bench, while Joao Felix, who made the permanent move to Chelsea this summer from Atletico Madrid following a successful loan spell, has also largely been a bench player in the league with just two starts. In terms of out and out strikers, 18-year-old Marc Guiu, picked up from the Barcelona academy in the summer, is the obvious back-up. He’s only featured once in the Premier League but has six goals in six appearances in the Conference League. Chelsea are rumoured to be willing to let him leave on loan in January and he may be on Town’s radar.
The TeamsThe big question will be whether Kieran McKenna sticks with a back five. It made Town more defensively solid on Friday night at the Emirates but understandably meant that some attacking thrust was lost. It’s also a switch that Fulham made to combat Chelsea on Boxing Day to great effect, although Antonee Robinson ended up as more of a left winger there. There’s also the question of fitness which could lead to more rotation which makes this a hard one to call. Chelsea do tend to keep their full-backs narrow which will leave gaps down the side so I wonder if there’s also the possibility of playing something that looks more like a 4-3-3 going forward with Leif Davis and Wes Burns providing the width in front of a more standard back four, or maybe more of a box midfield like below. Either way I think width is crucial in this one. I like the back three as I think it has a nice balance of qualities and Kalvin Phillips and Jens Cajuste are easily my favourite midfield pairing. The only thing that gives Sam Morsy the edge to come back in for this one is the fitness of the pair. I’ve got 22 out of the last 22 player predictions right in these team selections but this one I'm going with is a bit of a curveball so this streak could end here.
 For Chelsea, despite their squad depth, Maresca’s team selection has been pretty consistent so far and I can’t see too many changes for this one with Nkunku for Jackson and Madueke for Neto the most likely changes if there are any.
PredictionA couple of weeks ago Chelsea were being touted as title contenders, that chatter has died down following a couple of poor results over the Christmas period, being held to a draw by Everton and losing to Fulham. Despite having plenty of options, Maresca stayed fairly consistent with his team selection so fatigue could play a part with his young squad. Town bounced back from Newcastle with a much-improved performance against Arsenal. It will be interesting to see how McKenna balances the defensive success in that game against how he likes to attack games at home and the need to keep legs fresh. Personally, I don’t think this Chelsea team is as good as Arsenal or Newcastle, so I'm going for a 1-1 draw. Please report offensive, libellous or inappropriate posts by using the links provided.
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