A compact December schedule will see team’s depth and squad size stretched to the limit. Could Chelsea lead the way at the end of it?
In recent weeks, we have seen Chelsea start to fulfill their preseason expectations. After a £250 million squad renovation for Frank Lampard, it seems the Blues have plugged their defensive faults and are already leading the Premier League in goals scored. However, it will not be smooth sailing in West London.
A 0-0 draw with Tottenham Hotspur precedes a busy calendar month for the side from Fulham Road. Still involved in both the UEFA Champions League, and the Premier League, this month is going to test the depth and strength of the Blues squad.
Now, I’m pre-emptively going to say that this is ignoring injuries. I do not have a crystal ball to look into and predict that certain players will sustain injuries of any given degree of seriousness. That aside, could the deep Blues see their way to the summit of English football? Well, this is going to depend on the deployment of the squad and how well it is rotated.
Starting with the attackers, there is no limit to the options Frank Lampard has at his disposal. Timo Werner, Hakim Ziyech, Christian Pulisic, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Tammy Abraham, Olivier Giroud, Mason Mount, and Kai Havertz headline a talented outfit all capable of blasting shots past keepers and generating chances. All very well equipped to play as part of the trio leading the blues attack. You can’t go wrong with an attack as deadly as that. Yes, it faltered against Tottenham, but had Giroud kept his composure in the final minutes of the game, it very well could have been a Chelsea win against Spurs. This is an attack that leads the league in goals and it doesn’t matter who the personnel are, just that they are all kept as fresh as they can be.
In midfield, Chelsea still have some luxury players. With Mount and Havertz both capable of playing in midfield accompanied by the likes of N’Golo Kante, Jorginho and Mateo Kovacic, there is a lot to choose from in the middle of the park. This does not include Reece James who is fully capable of playing in the middle of the park as he did for Wigan, or Billy Gilmour who’s still on his way back from leg surgery. Chelsea from here forward have enough players to fill out a second squad capable of finishing midtable. It’s completely and utterly ridiculous the amount of talent that is on this squad in midfield and up top.
Now, the defense is where we start to see the Achilles’ Heel of this squad. Chelsea may very well be capable of coming back from 4-1 down to earn a draw in the group stage of the Champions League, but the defense in recent time has not been great. Now, it’s been absolutely nothing short of fantastic since the arrival of Thiago Silva. He and Kurt Zouma have proved quite the formidable partnership at the back for the blues. Fikayo Tomori, Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger all still are in the Chelsea squad. Despite Tomori not playing a prominent role in the season to this point, he is still a Chelsea player at the club and developing under the guidance of someone like Thiago Silva. If this defense holds up, there’s no telling what might happen for the blues with this busy month. If the clean sheets keep holding thick and fast, the sky is well and truly the limit.
Between the pipes is shuddering. Starting with the good, Edouard Mendy. He’s been fantastic so far during his Chelsea career. Conceding three goals in 12 games? He joined the league almost a month after is started, and has more clean sheets than anyone else to this point. Giving up just one goal in the league, one goal in the league cup and one goal in the Champions League. It’s nothing short of a fantastic start to his time in, well, was going to say blue but it’s more a kind of green for Mendy being a goalkeeper of course.
Willy Caballero is a serviceable number two keeper. Chelsea would be back to deep trouble if he was required to start for an extended period of time, although it would not be disastrous, it wouldn’t be ideal. If we say Mendy is the good for the sake of a metaphor, Caballero is the bad that leaves us with the ugly. And oh boy Kepa Arrizabalaga. I will go on record and say I believe there is still something salvageable with Arrizabalaga. Not like the price tag hanging over his head would suggest, but enough to make him a good goalkeeper in the Premier League. Any form of confidence back for Arrizabalaga after he’s been thrown to the curb with the hot new arrival between the sticks, he’s been bashed my media and fans alike. Arrizabalaga will want to prove his point, and there’s something there still.
That said if it gets to a situation where Arrizabalaga is Chelsea’s number one for the remainder of the season, put money on seeing calls for Petr Cech to come out of retirement. This is said with no offense intended to Arrizabalaga. I’m sure he’s a great guy and a true professional. He’s certainly better than I am. But in terms of results, it just isn’t justifiable with numbers or eyes at this moment, saying Chelsea would be okay.
So, in general, how does this squad stack up to the other title contenders, like Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool? I’m going to sound incredibly biased, but I would say the Blues at this point have the best squad of the bunch. Liverpool are without Virgil van Dijk, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Joe Gomez, while City are struggling defensively and still don’t have Sergio Aguero. Between Chelsea and Spurs? I’ll let you be the judge of that.
Chelsea is the best squad in the league in terms of being equipped to deal with the compact schedule. Feel free to tell me why I’m wrong below!