Chelsea are still waiting for several of their leading players to return from injury. The current XI is performing well enough to leave Frank Lampard with some difficult decisions.
Chelsea earned their first win of the season under Frank Lampard against Norwich City. Lampard’s belief in his young guns finally bore fruit as players like Mason Mount and Tammy Abraham extended their performances from previous games.
Chelsea have missed some key players due to injury in every game this season. Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Callum Hudson-Odoi, N’Golo Kante and Antonio Rudiger would all have been regulars had they been available. Reece James is out as well with injury, but he has not yet established his place in Chelsea’s lineup.
Kante’s display against Liverpool showed just how much he does on the pitch, in case anyone needed the reminder. He will certainly return to his place in the XI immediately upon being healthy. All the other injured players will be great in their positions when they return, but how they retake their positions is still an open question.
This is where Lampard’s job will become a little more challenging. He will have to rethink his starting XI to re-integrate these players, and they still will have to step up their game to retain the starting spots in the squad.
Starting from the back, Antonio Rudiger will be one of the starting centre backs. Kurt Zouma will have to put in impressive performances to challenge Andreas Christensen for the second spot because, as of now, Christensen in looking better than Zouma in defence. The Frenchman has had sloppy and sluggish moments on the back-line. He gave away a penalty against Manchester United, and looked out of focus against them and Norwich City, as Chelsea conceded goals.
Cesar Azpilicueta makes great forward runs and whips in crosses, but leaves a lot of space in the back for the opposition to explore, almost like Marcus Alonso did last season.
Norwich and Manchester United punished Chelsea for this, as did Liverpool in the UEFA Super Cup. Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino took charge down Chelsea’s right wing because Azpilicueta was out of position. Reece James, after his recovery, should be challenging the captain for his spot.
The midfield for the Blues will be the most interesting area as there are spots up for grabs and the manager will have to make tough decisions. N’Golo Kante is a sure starter. He provides reliable defensive support all around the pitch, breaks down attacks and guarantees interceptions.
Jorginho and Mateo Kovacic will have to battle for the second holding midfielder role alongside Kante.
Mason Mount is doing a fantastic job in the attacking midfield. He is intelligent on the ball and off it. Jorginho and Ross Barkley both could have been on the scoresheet against the Canaries if they had put away the chances Mount created for them.
Mount is doing what Jorginho was signed for: making plays and spreading the ball. On top of that, he even scores.
The 20-year old presses the opposition with intensity, and he is not taken off the ball easily. The Italian, on the other hand, is shaken off the ball easily, as seen against Norwich, which led to the first equalizer. Mount is an upgrade on Jorginho.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek should be in the starting XI once fully fit. Last season he showed quality dribbling skills and finishing ability. He can run with the ball from deep and is strong on the ball. His link-up play with Mount and Christian Pulisic should be fascinating. Barkley would probably fall back into the substitution cycle unless he steps up his game far above his performance at Norwich City.
New signing Pulisic has shown great signs on the pitch. He is a fantastic dribbler and has good game sense, knowing when to hold up the play and when to release the ball.
The American assisted Olivier Giroud’s opener in the Super Cup and assisted Mount’s goal against Norwich. He has not done anything wrong up to now and will only improve from here.
Callum Hudson-Odoi was a spark last season until his injury. Once he returns he will probably be in the running for a spot on the wing. Pulisic and Hudson-Odoi will give a tough time to Willian and Pedro for their spots in the team.
Up front, Tammy Abraham has strong finishing abilities and can take on defences. He still has a lot to learn in the Premier League, but the striker role is almost Abraham’s unless he fails to perform over a long stretch of games.
With so many options it will tough for Lampard to fit in all the players. Mason Mount, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Christian Pulisic cannot all play together at the same time in the 4-2-3-1 formation, unless Lampard puts Loftus-Cheek and Kante behind a three-man attacking midfield of Mount, Pulisic and Hudson-Odoi. Another option would be changing to a 4-3-3 with Mount, Kante and Loftus-Cheek in the midfield and Pulisic, Abraham and Hudson-Odoi as the front three.
The change in line up and tactics once the entire squad is fully fit and available will be intriguing. Lampard has right kind of difficult decisions ahead as his Chelsea side, even without these key players, looks good, with only the defence remaining an issue.