Nathaniel Chalobah, Ola Aina get the start for Chelsea in the EFL Cup

Antonio Conte sends out another new squad for the EFL Cup tie against West Ham United. Several Chelsea youngsters feature prominently and will hope to leave their mark on the match and their manager.

Cesar Azpilicueta will play yet another position in Chelsea’s EFL Cup tie against West Ham. The Spaniard moves up the pitch to right wing-back, in place of Victor Moses.

Azpilicueta made way in the backline for John Terry’s return. Terry, Gary Cahill and David Luiz is likely Antonio Conte’s preferred defence. Terry restores the back three to the normal height range for a trio of centre-backs.

Azpilicueta performed admirably, and had strong aerial stats to complement his usual control of the ground game. But the sight of Zlatan Ibrahimovic towering over Azpilicueta drove home the point that, as versatile as Azpilicueta is, he was far from home.

Ola Aina and Nathaniel Chalobah get the start, in case their was any lingering doubt about Antonio Conte’s commitment to youth and the Academy. Chalobah and striker Michy Batshuayi have the most to prove at London Stadium as they have their eyes set on the Premier League. Chalobah is on the verge of a league start, while Batshuayi wants more than a few substitute minutes every other game.

Chalobah is unlikely to displace Nemanja Matic from the Premier League starting XI. Matic’s recent re-emergence has laid to rest doubts about his form and future at Chelsea. The Kante-Chalobah partnership will be one of the more interesting experiments to watch.

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The interplay between the two and Chalobah’s play off the ball between the boxes may open up new options for Conte in the midfield. If Conte still intends to transition Chelsea to a 3-5-2 in the future, Nathaniel Chalobah and N’Golo Kante will be at the heart of that formation. Pay attention in this game and you may see into the future.

Notably missing from the squad is Ruben Loftus-Cheek. Antonio Conte did not mention any injury issues surrounding Loftus-Cheek. Loftus-Cheek started the previous EFL Cup match against Leicester City.

Conte may have concluded that his attempts to convert Loftus-Cheek into a striker were not bearing fruit. Given Chelsea’s depth in midfield and on the wings, and Eden Hazard’s flourishing in a free No. 10 role, Loftus-Cheek may be in a serious position with the club.

Antonio Conte will surely hope to keep five of his Premier League starters as unused substitutes. Dominic Solanke is the only on-the-cusp player on the sub list. Hopefully Solanke will come on in a planned substitution for Batshuayi, and not because the young Belgian comes off for form.