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Pedro on bench, Nathan Ake not in Chelsea’s squad vs. Liverpool

By George Perry

LONDON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 22: Diego Costa (R) of Chelsea celebrates scoring the opening goal with his team mates 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: Diego Costa (R) of Chelsea celebrates scoring the opening goal with his team mates 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) /
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Antonio Conte made one change to his regular Premier League XI for Chelsea’s top-of-the-table tilt against Liverpool. Willian will start at right wing over Pedro.

Antonio Conte chose his more defensive-minded midfield of Nemanja Matic and N’Golo Kante to face Liverpool this evening. Matic and Kante will need every ounce of speed (Kante), size (Matic) and disruption (both) to shut down an energetic, angry and desperate Jurgen Klopp side.

The most significant swap in Chelsea’s lineup is starting Willian instead of Pedro at right wing. Conte may not trust Pedro’s sometimes undisciplined energy against an opponent like Liverpool. Willian is more likely to play positionally and not get himself too far afield to respond to a Reds counter-attack.

If Chelsea need a goal late in the game, Conte has Cesc Fabregas as well as Pedro on the bench as his creators. Fabregas’ passing and Pedro’s runs in behind the defence could take advantage of Liverpool’s fatigue as the game progresses.

The Reds’ pace and press has fallen off since early in the season. Starting Matic and Willian may be a rope-a-dope strategy to wear Liverpool down, and then bring Fabregas and Pedro on for the kill.

The most notable absence from the 18-man squad is Nathan Ake. Conte chose John Terry and Kurt Zouma as his back-up centre-backs. John Terry offers little against a club like Liverpool. He is not so much surplus to requirements as not useful at all in this match. Even if there was a scenario where Chelsea needed to make two defensive substitutions, it is unclear why Conte would choose Terry over Ake.

Nathan Ake performed very well in the FA Cup against Brentford. Antonio Conte may think that Ake is still not ready to go 90 minutes of Premier League football for Chelsea. This is a stretch, given Ake’s success at Bournemouth. Even if Ake is not 100% familiar with executing Conte’s game plan, he still offers plenty of the raw materials that John Terry lacks and that would be useful against Liverpool.

This game is too important to have John Terry in the squad for symbolic purposes. The symbolism of Nathan Ake watching from the stands may even be more powerful.

Trust in Antonio Conte. He has gotten the Blues this far. If only he was easier to understand.

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