Chelsea face another concentrated burst of games over the next three weeks. Antonio Conte’s preparations for Crystal Palace show how he is experimenting with squad rotation for this run and the subsequent holiday season.
Antonio Conte is exploring his options to see Chelsea through the next few months. Any hope he had of repeating last year’s squad stability is long gone. He is now planning for an extended period without Alvaro Morata or N’Golo Kante. This latter injury presents the most need for creative squad usage.
Conte said at Friday’s news conference that he may bring Kyle Scott and Ethan Ampadu into the squad against Crystal Palace. The other alternative he presented was to “adapt some defenders in midfield,” which almost certainly means David Luiz as a deep-lying central midfielder, i.e., a destroyer.
Conte is musing with the possibility of turning to academy graduates under much different circumstances that how he treated them last year. John Terry played over half the minutes that went to Cobham alumni last season. Nathaniel Chalobah, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and the rest picked up scraps in late substitutions and early-round cup ties.
Must Read: Chelsea and Crystal Palace: Clubs owe managers a voice in building their team
The prospect of playing Scott or Ampadu shows that Conte is preparing for significant rotation – or at least a strong possibility thereof – in the coming months. Crystal Palace presents an opportunity to blood these players in the Premier League, an opponent against whom a young Chelsea side will not be particularly vulnerable.
By giving them experience and the opportunity to play through their debutante nerves now, Conte and the players will be more confident about using them against teams like Qarabag, Bournemouth or Everton. That will ensure he has his top shelf players ready for the likes of Liverpool and Atletico Madrid.
Antonio Conte knew that the additional competitions would take their toll on his squad. But the attrition has been much higher than expected, with two of the most significant injuries – Eden Hazard and N’Golo Kante – coming on international duty. He cannot hope to have his squad fully intact in April given the injury picture in October.
Next: Chelsea will not fall to pieces over six games without N'Golo Kante
Kyle Scott and Ethan Ampadu are part of his plans to get Chelsea from here to there, more than having them ready to take a full-time role at any point. Conte may be placing his trust in them more because he has to than because he wants to, but that will not matter to anyone. Like everyone else in Blue, they have a job to do and a unique opportunity to fulfill.