Antonio Conte’s decision to start Eden Hazard as a false-nine and replace Willian with Ross Barkley left a sour taste for many Chelsea fans, who hoped to see Michy Batshuayi in either role. Conte was likely adhering to a mid-range schedule for his strikers, factoring in the likelihood of transfers.
Michy Batshuayi does not play very often for Chelsea. When he does play, he usually does not play for long. And on those rare times when he does play for long, he seldom does it again any time soon.
Only three times in his season and a half at Stamford Bridge has Batshuayi had consecutive appearances over 30 minutes. The first was at the beginning of the season, in the Community Shield and then the Premier League season opener (74 and 59 minutes, respectively). The second was a few weeks later when Batshuayi played complete games against Qarabag in the Champions League and Nottingham Forest in the Carabao Cup. And the third was last week when he played 81 minutes against Norwich City in the FA Cup and then the full 90 against Brighton in the league.
Six days separated the games in Batshuayi’s first doublet of 30+ minutes, and eight days separated the second. However, he only had three days rest between Norwich and Brighton. The Blues faced Arsenal in the Carabao Cup four days after Brighton. Even with the short appearance, this was the most football Batshuayi has played for Chelsea in any three-game stretch or any given week.
Batshuayi’s light outing against Arsenal raises the likelihood he will start against Newcastle on Sunday. Even if Alvaro Morata was fully fit, the FA Cup tie comes at an opportune time to start Batshuayi and rest Morata and Eden Hazard.
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Chelsea have three Premier League fixtures between January 31 and February 12. Eight days later, they face Barcelona at home in the Champions League round of 16. Antonio Conte needs Alvaro Morata and Eden Hazard as fresh, rested and on-form as possible for the Champions League. He will want to give each of them a night off during one of those Premier League fixtures.
On the hopeful assumption Chelsea sign Edin Dzeko in the coming week, Morata will play the first two Premier League games. Those 10 days will give Dzeko enough time for a crash course in Conte football, with at least one substitute appearance. Dzeko can then start the February 12 game against West Bromwich Albion while Morata rests. Dzeko is cup-tied for the Champions League, so he will be the go-to striker for the Premier League games before and possibly after a European night.
Assuming Batshuayi does not go on loan, he will be available as a substitute for any of those games. If Chelsea do send him on loan, perhaps as part of the deal for Dzeko, the Blues will at least have extracted the most use out of him in his final weeks.
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Conte would not have jeopardized Batshuayi’s readiness for Newcastle by over-taxing him (make of that what you will) against Arsenal. Preparing Batshuayi to play 90 minutes against Newcastle ensures Chelsea can line up the starting striker rotation going into the Champions League knock-out rounds.