Chelsea vs West Brom: Three things to look for in return to action
2. Rotation and injuries
The most interesting storyline in this bout for the Blues is their starting XI. Tuchel has faced a plethora of problems in terms of personnel decisions already during his time in charge of the Blues. For the first time, he’ll finally be close to having a fully healthy squad. There were a few individuals who suffered knocks during the international break, while others played every match for their country. Factor in the prospect of Porto midweek and there are a lot of decisions the Chelsea boss will be forced to make.
Thiago Silva and Tammy Abraham—neither of whom joined up with their international teams during the break—are back in training. They have played minimal roles under the German thus far due to their nagging injuries. However, it seems both are ready to be selected for the weekend’s game against West Brom. This is a huge injury boost for the Blues, but doesn’t make the decisions on who to start any easier. One of the biggest questions surrounding Silva is whether or not Tuchel will sacrifice Andreas Christensen, who is in excellent form, to reinsert the Brazilian. That is absolutely something to watch as whoever starts Saturday’s match will likely sit against Porto in the Champions League.
The striker position is also a developing story. Olivier Giroud didn’t do anything of note during the international break for France. This adds to his recent struggles and thus, it’d be quite surprising to see his name on the starting teamsheet. Abraham hasn’t gotten much of a chance to prove himself under Tuchel, but it may be too soon for him to earn a start. This leaves Timo Werner, who didn’t start in Germany’s loss to North Macedonia, or Kai Havertz. Werner has struggled as of late, whereas Havertz has excelled as a false No. 9. In the end, the decision lies with the manager, who will undoubtedly have Porto in the back of his mind.
Then we get to the injuries.
Mount suffered a small setback in England training that saw him miss warmups prior to the Poland game. Nevertheless, he started in England’s final game and looked fierce. Tuchel may not want to risk his long-term health if there were any legs to the reports he suffered a knock. If Mount is 100 percent, he’ll definitely be included as Chelsea’s most important player.
It may be too soon for N’Golo Kante, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Jorginho to return though. The former two had to be sent back to Cobham from their respective international camps through injury. Kante suffered a minor hamstring injury and Hudson-Odoi banged up his shoulder. Jorginho didn’t meet up with his Italian compatriots because of a knock he suffered in training before the break. All three of these individuals have taken on massive roles in Tuchel’s 3-4-3. If there is any hesitation, the German should leave them out of the team completely.