Chelsea travels to Rennes for the fourth of six matches in the Champions League group stage, here are three things to look for in the match.
Chelsea is preparing to suit up and head to France in the opening match of the group stage’s second half. The Blues sit atop Group E, but only on goal difference, so they’ll need to capitalize on the opportunity to stay ahead of Sevilla. Any slip up from Frank Lampard’s men could see them put in an inopportune position heading into the next match against the Spanish side.
The headlines are now veering in another direction after the extensive Edouard Mendy coverage in the two clubs’ last contest. Mendy managed a clean sheet against his former club and the Blues cruised to a relatively comfortable 3-0 win. It wasn’t without controversy, however. Chelsea looked a bit sluggish in attack, scoring two or the three goals from the penalty spot. There is definite room for improvements. Will those changes be made?
Here are three things to look for in Chelsea’s match with Rennes:
1. The continuation of the streak
Chelsea is one of two sides yet to concede in the Champions League—Liverpool being the other. Mendy has kept seven clean sheets in nine games for the club, a huge upgrade from his predecessor. If the Blues are able to keep a clean sheet again, the odds they will earn another three points skyrocket. However, that’s not a guarantee as Rennes played Lampard’s side close last match.
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Despite going down to 10-men in the 40′, Les Rouge et Noir held their own and still threatened Mendy’s goal on a couple of occasions. Chelsea did a great job of limiting Newcastle’s chances in the last match with a makeshift centerback duo. Thiago Silva’s status for the French trip is still up in the air. Odds are he plays, nothing is guaranteed though. The Blues won’t just be looking to preserve a clean sheet streak against Rennes, but accomplish something rare in not having their net rattled throughout the entire group stage. The Group E leaders face a tough task, but their opponents haven’t scored in nearly a month. Three points are the goal, a goals conceded record must be on the Blues’ minds though.
2. How will the Blues go about attacking the second time around?
Let’s be honest with ourselves, Chelsea was incredibly lucky when hosting Rennes a few weeks ago. The Blues got a rather bogus penalty—which saw the French outfit at a disadvantage for the remainder of the match—that helped guide them to a more comfortable win. The score doesn’t do the match justice though. Rennes did a wonderful job of not only absorbing Chelsea’s attack, but containing it.
The key to that containment was possession. Lampard’s tactics require a high press with a large amount of possession. The visitors possessed the ball 42.4 percent of the game and managed just one less chance than their hosts. Unlocking the stubborn Rennes defense will require creativity and pace throughout the park. Jorginho started the last match in Kai Havertz’s absence, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Mateo Kovacic given the nod in this meeting. Kovacic’s inclusion allows Kante to sit deep while letting the other two venture forward. It also gives the Blues a lot more speed in the middle of the park to link up play in the final third. We could see the same front three as last time, which includes a creative mind in Hakim Ziyech, pace with Timo Werner and a jack of all trades in Tammy Abraham. Lampard and his assistants will have to begin with a more free flowing attacking plan in order to jump in front.
3. Playing time for Chelsea stars
A few of the aforementioned individuals haven’t featured lately for various reasons. Havertz has been out with COVID-19, Silva has been rested due to extensive travel and Christian Pulisic has been nursing a hamstring issue. The biggest question ahead of this bout is the status of these three stars.
Havertz is hopeful that he’ll see the pitch for the first time since testing positive for Coronavirus. The German began training individually on this side of the latest international break, but was not a part of the Blues’ match day squad against Newcastle. He will likely feature, although the chance of him jumping right back into the starting XI is slim to none. One man who will slot back into the XI is Silva, anything else would be quite a surprise. That leaves Pulisic.
The American pulled up pre-match with a hamstring issue against Burnley and hasn’t featured since. He’s been present at training and it seems he’s getting close to a return. We’ll know more after the gaffer’s press conference though. Regardless, the starting XI and possible return of some stars are some headlines to keep an eye on.
What are some of the things you’ll be watching for in the match? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter!