The long awaited Premier League season is upon us after two long months away. Here are a few things to look out for, as some of these early factors will be crucial in shaping Chelsea’s season.
While there’s excitement swirling around the Chelsea squad, there’s just as much – if not more – uncertainty. Chelsea travel to the red side of Manchester on Sunday for their first match of the 2019/20 Premier League season.
1. Chelsea’s centerback pairing
The centerback situation at Chelsea instills as much excitement in some fans as it does fear in the others. It’s a little bit ironic, though, that some people are writing off the likes of Fikayo Tomori and Kurt Zouma because of inexperience, while deriding the experience of players like Pedro and Willian last season by lumping it under the pejorative of age.
But at least one of them will have a recurring role alongside Andreas Christensen until Antonio Rudiger returns from injury. And then, once Rudiger is back in the starting XI, Chelsea fans will have to wait to see who will partner him.
This creates a certain level of uneasiness because Chelsea has to get right the centerback positions, otherwise the season could be… awkward (to say the least).
Tomori and Zouma are similar players in their overall characteristics. They are old-fashioned defenders, as is Rudiger, and therefore Christensen is in a better position to play with him, especially after Luiz’s, let’s just say, dramatic exit.
Lampard will be looking for the potential weaknesses that specific pairings could have as well as their strengths, and will adapt not just the defence but the entire side to balance out those positives and negatives. He will also keep in mind the variety of opponents Chelsea will face and how different partnerships will be needed at different times.
2. The next face of Chelsea
After the departure of Eden Hazard, fans have no idea where to look for a steady stream of goals and assists, that one player who could pull Chelsea out of deep s**t whenever they get themselves into it. Someone you know always has something under his sleeve.
During preseason, that player looked like Ross Barkley. His free kicks, his passes, his penalties, his composure, his goal(s) all put him first among the forwards. That is still preseason, though, which is why the Manchester Untied game is going to be a big opportunity for players like Christian Pulisic, Barkley, Pedro, Willian, and even Mason Mount, as they each stake a claim for Hazard’s throne.
Watch for who will make plays, who the plays will go through, who drives the team forward.
3. Chelsea’s attack vs. Manchester United’s attack
Chelsea has lost Eden Hazard and Manchester United is without Romelu Lukaku. Ole Gunnar Solksjaer seems to have chosen to go with more guile and less physicality. The question is, who will Manchester United bring in when they hit games where they need to lump – yes, lump – the ball to the big man up top?
I’m sure there’s a perfectly good answer to that we’ve just not seen yet.
Chelsea’s forwards Have been good in preseason and they look like they’re ready to punish any sloppiness in the opposition defences. Nobody seems to be able to deal with Pulisic’s speed. Mason Mount is as composed as Alvaro Morata was supposed to be. Tammy Abraham has been less than stellar in preseason, but he has been getting chances, which we know is the first step to scoring them.
Manchester United have Anthony Martial (of whom Chelsea fans will not have fond memories), Marcus Rashford (fast, has a good cross, and did I mention fast?), Daniel James, and Paul Pogba (capable of anything a midfielder should be capable of, good in the air, could be a target for crosses). Both sets of defenders are going to have a lot of work to do.
4. Who stakes a claim to be the starting No. 9?
Yes, Tammy Abraham wear the No. 9 shirt, but that does not guarantee him a starting spot. No one is guaranteed a starting spot. Right, David?
Michy Batshuayi, Olivier Giroud and Tammy Abraham all have characteristics that justify starting, but who would get the goals? Does any one of them have 15-20 goals in him? Not all three would be tested on Sunday, and Lampard will have to choose one to lead the offence and defend his place in the starting XI.
Abraham is good in the air, so is Giroud. Batshuayi is a fighter and that is never a bad thing. If each of these three wants to start, he will have to battle his teammates for the honors.
Two other things to look for… Christian Pulisic. This would be his first league game for Chelsea against Manchester United. It’s only Old Trafford. No pressure! However, he has plenty of big game experience from Borussia Dortmund, so expect him to handle himself well.
Finally, the left-back situation. Emerson seems to have the upper hand. It may not matter who starts, but whoever starts has to do the job.