New Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri is not a fan of rotation. But with only a day between matches and the Premier League looming, he must rotate for Lyon.
Rotation is a fine balance. Too much, like Rafa Benitez, and the team loses cohesion. Too little, like Jose Mourinho, and you burn out the starters and alienate everyone else. Good managers look at the entire picture and decide that some matches are rotational matches.
Maurizio Sarri is more in the camp of consistency in the starting XI. This preseason, the defense has been that he is trying to teach the squad his style while slowly working the World Cup players into the team. That is understandable, but it is a precedent that needs to be broken.
Chelsea has one more preseason match before the season proper begins. With only a day in between the Community Shield and Lyon, Sarri needs to recognize the current situation. The players looked exhausted quickly against City which played into the putrid performance. The same XI, again, will simply not be capable against Lyon and playing them again will hinder them against Huddersfield. Sarri must break his own habit and rotate.
That is not to say that the current starting XI cannot play. But at best they should be the substitutes towards the end of the match. The returning Belgian, French, and English players should be lumped into the sub pile as well. Sarri has seen what the current XI can do from the start. He needs to let them rest and see what everyone else can do from the start.
This is Sarri’s chance to test his depth against a solid European side. It is preseason the result does not matter. Sarri needs to see who he can count on and who he needs to find a replacement for before Thursday.
Marcin Bulka must start in goal. No offense to Robert Green, but it seems as though Bulka is higher in the pecking order. Many even wanted Bulka to start in the Community Shield. Regardless, he needs to play the entirety of the match against Lyon.
The back line has perhaps been the most rotated this preseason, so Sarri will have a good idea as to who he likes. But Lyon can be a chance to break in to his plans. The center back pairing of Antonio Rudiger and David Luiz was woeful against Manchester City and Andreas Christensen and Ethan Ampadu deserve their chance. Even Gary Cahill, who should come on late, deserves a chance.
Emerson and Davide Zappacosta have both had their chances to impress this preseason and have so far failed. Both will be needed for rotation and they need to show that they are good enough for Europa League games.
N’Golo Kante should feature late but the Lyon match needs to be about Tiemoue Bakayoko. He is the current odd man out of the midfield, both form wise and home grown wise. He needs to prove he is not expendable. It will be a massive uphill battle for him but he needs the chance to fight that battle.
Chelsea is shorter on options in the front three but it is clear that Tammy Abraham needs his shot. Sarri knows what he has with Alvaro Morata now. Abraham is likely to go out on loan but he needs a showcase for prospective clubs. He is an amazing player when given service and needs to find a club that suits him.
The only player Sarri should start again should be one of Callum Hudson-Odoi or Pedro. That is only because that position is shallowest until Eden Hazard is ready. The rest should be rotated so the current “best XI” can rest and the rest can show their worth. Sarri must allow this to happen, against his own habit, if Chelsea wants to be prepared for Huddersfield.