Chelsea should field their youngest possible XI in FA Cup against Norwich

Chelsea pay the price for their first of three goalless draws this Wednesday as they host an FA Cup replay against Norwich. Antonio Conte should call up as many U23’s (or younger) as he can for Chelsea’s starting XI.

Chelsea welcome Norwich City to Stamford Bridge on Wednesday, but it will not be a wanted welcome. The last thing the Blues need is another fixture. Given their recent form, a game carries as much risk of piling on frustration, embarrassment and fatigue as it does the prospect of breaking out of the slump.

Antonio Conte should go further than a large number of changes from his most recent Premier League side. He should completely overhaul the match-day squad, pulling players up from Cobham to fill out the team sheet. Willy Caballero, Michy Batshuayi and Andreas Christensen should be among the most experienced players in the side, the veterans among a raft of first-team debutantes.

For starters, Chelsea’s usual squad needs an extraordinary level of rotation. They are utterly exhausted. Conte cited the need for fresh energy for his decision to withdraw Alvaro Morata and Eden Hazard in the 58′ against Arsenal. N’Golo Kante and Cesar Azpilicueta are visibly fatigued. The players are drained mentally as well as physically. Their decision-making, reaction times and effort are late and often misdirected. They need a few days away from the sport to rest, heal and defog their psyches.

While they are away, they can spend some time together to build an esprit de corps. Hearing embarrassing stories from childhood friends and writing new embarrassing stories on the town are time-tested solutions.

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However, sending the players off on vacation is not just a pass to fun-and-games. Before they scatter, Antonio Conte must make clear that the youngsters in the squad will be fighting for a prolonged stay with the first team. Shipping the senior players out is a simple act of proof that none of them are indispensable at Chelsea.

These young players will have little realistic chance of earning a place in an upcoming Premier League match-day squad, let alone the starting XI. They will know that. But they will still want to show Antonio Conte how much they want to be in the senior squad as soon as possible. The FA Cup tie would be more about showing their hunger than their talent. Again, a lesson the regular XI could learn.

Conte could use the young squad to experiment as boldly as he can imagine. He could try new ideas, anchored around those few veterans in the side, to see how things could work with the usual crew: 4-2-4, 3-4-1-2 or any combination or chameleon thereof. Norwich are sufficient opposition to expose the vulnerabilities without completely demolishing a new formation of young players.

Finally, a starting XI with five, seven or 10 U23’s could scarcely do worse than the regular side has done over the last three games. So what if they don’t score? Neither has Eden Hazard, Alvaro Morata, Cesc Fabregas or Marcos Alonso. So what if Norwich walls them out of the penalty area? Only Willian has been up-close and personal with an opposition keeper lately. And if they lose? Better them than the senior players.

One thing we know for sure: all the players will want it, and it will be entertaining.

Callum Hudson-Odoi scored a hat-trick in the Premier League 2 on Sunday. His first goal resembled something Eden Hazard would do, and his second was a precise re-enactment of Pedro’s curlers. Charly Musonda, Ethan Ampadu, Cole Dasilva and Kyle Scott were all in that PL2 side, and should all feature on Wednesday. If nervous fans want a sense of familiarity from the names they see on the kits and hear on TV, summon Trevoh Chalobah and Kylian Hazard.

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Hernan Cortes famously burned his ships. Antonio Conte should do something similar by denying himself the fall-back options of Alvaro Morata and Eden Hazard on the bench against Norwich.