Chelsea look far away from a top four side right now. The Blues have been struggling to find form, and as soon as things start looking bright for Chelsea, it all tumbles down to mediocrity.
Fighting relegation, Cardiff City is up next for Chelsea. Maurizio Sarri should look to switch things up as this will be a good chance to experiment with the squad and rest some key players after the international break. Cardiff have only won eight games this season and have struggled with just 27 goals in 30 games.
Among the positives one can draw from Chelsea’s season are the youngsters, who always perform when given the opportunity.
Callum Hudson-Odoi needs to start against Cardiff. The winger has scored four goals and two assists in eight appearances in the Europa League and has looked deadly whenever he has come on as a substitute in the Premier league. The 18-year old even made Alvaro Morata look good with his crosses. Hudson-Odoi can easily replace Willian or Pedro at the wing.
Another young gun who needs to start is Ruben Loftus-Cheek. He is swift, technically gifted and can make plays or dribble himself. His performances in the Europa League and the immediate impact he has on the game as a substitute speak for itself. Loftus-Cheek can start instead of Mateo Kovacic or Jorginho (who Maurizio Sarri will never want to sit out), because in addition to it all, Loftus-Cheek can provide defensive cover.
Andreas Christensen has been at Chelsea for a long time and his performances under Antonio Conte were laudable. The 22-year old is a much better option to start instead of David Luiz, who is more often than not a suspect for errors leading to goals.
Luiz has been guilty for goals on number of occasions and a great performance here or there cannot cover up the fact he has lost his knack for defending. His horrible performances against Tottenham in November, Bournemouth and Manchester City in February and against Arsenal in March are just a few examples where he played like he was on the pitch for his first professional game.
Marcos Alonso’s fall from grace has been shocking. He was considered the best left wing-back in the Premier League for two seasons, but now is probably one of the most error-prone defenders. He is fantastic going forward, but leaves acres of space behind for the opposition to explore. Recently, though, he has been poor in the attacking aspect as well. Clumsy and lazy tackles are new additions to Alonso’s list of worries. Matches against Manchester City, Tottenham, Manchester United and most recently Everton show how poor he has been. He needs to sit out and improve himself.
Emerson Palmieri has been a perfect replacement for Alonso in every game he has played. He is solid defensively and is great with his crosses and short passing. Sarri should give Emerson the start against Cardiff.
Olivier Giroud is the top scorer in Europa league. Clearly, the standard in the Europa League and Premier league are way different. But given the form Giroud is in right now, he should be staring the game.
Gonzalo Higuain has had rough start to his Premier League campaign. His ability to make runs and getting into position is remarkable, but he has lacked the finishing quality. This echoes his form with Argentina, where he would often get into decent positions but would fail to score. His three goals in seven appearances have come against Huddersfield (2) and Fulham (1), sides which are in the relegation zone. Higuain has not been the solution to Chelsea’s striker problems.
Cardiff City sit back, defend and wait for the chances to open up. A quick and dynamic winger like Hudson-Odoi can beat the Cardiff defence with pace and skill. Olivier Giroud can fend off defenders like Sol Bamba and Sean Morrison. The link-up play between Giroud and Hazard is lethal and can surely be used.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek in the midfield would give Chelsea an edge going forward in a match where Cardiff will sit back and defend. Emerson and Andreas Christensen will be a much better pairing for defensive solidarity than David Luiz and Marcos Alonso.
For a defence that will sit back most of the time in the hope of saving a point, the Blues will need a more direct and dynamic approach. It would be interesting to see how Cardiff’s defense would cope with Hazard and Hudson-Odoi’s dribbling and pace combined with Giroud’s strong physical presence in the box. Crisp, short passing between the midfield and the forward line would be key to break a defence that will be more than happy to stay put for majority of the game.
To pile more pressure on Cardiff, Loftus-Cheek’s presence would be of great help as his attacking intent would compound the workload on Neil Warnock’s side.