If you have clicked into this article hoping the title was ironic, you’re going to be disappointed. There are plenty of other moments where the “campaign” as Jose Mourinho described it seems to appear. The match against Wolverhampton going on despite Chelsea facing an injury crisis and having a Covid outbreak is not one of those moments.
Covid isn’t new. People have known for nearly two years what they can do and what they can’t, what is risky and what isn’t. Premier League footballers were among the first in the world to be offered vaccines and those that weren’t were among the most protected in the work place. That was then. Now, nearly two years into this, there can’t be anymore excuses. Now it is negligence.
As such, it shouldn’t be up to Chelsea whether their match is postponed or not. It shouldn’t really be up to the Premier League either, but they are merely showing the club that an action has a consequence. The Premier League has bungled this plenty too, but it’s only Chelsea’s fault that Chelsea’s got to play with such a depleted team.
This is an issue that simply doesn’t exist in American sports right now. In the NBA, most players are vaccinated. In the NFL, teams could be forced to forfeit if they can’t play through an outbreak. In the Premier League? Ask nicely enough and they’ll postpone the game hours beforehand and after fans have already traveled. It’s all a slap on the wrist for not taking Covid seriously this far into it.
So, Chelsea will play on with who they can because they can’t pick the consequence for their action. And, simply looking at the lineup, Chelsea never had much of a case for postponement anyways. Edouard Mendy is naturally in goal, though both Kepa Arrizabalaga and Marcus Bettinelli are needed for the bench.
The defense and wingbacks also aren’t all that different than what Chelsea can do on a normal, slightly rotated day. Cesar Azpilicueta, Thiago Silva, and Antonio Rudiger all form up with Reece James and Marcos Alonso around them. So far this is all looking pretty normal.
The pivot is the first sign of change, but that’s not unusual with all the injuries as of late. Both N’Golo Kante and Trevoh Chalobah will have to trust their fitness as they look to get through this match. The fitness issue aside though, both are fully capable of performing in their roles.
Attack also isn’t too much changed other than the complete lack of a striker. Mason Mount and Hakim Ziyech will “flank” Christian Pulisic who is tasked with leading the line. That’s not new for the American but it is certainly an unusual situation with or without the outbreak.
Filling out the bench will be outfielders Malang Sarr, Mateo Kovacic, Saul Niguez, and Ross Barkley. Not really a bench anyone wants to turn to if needed, but Chelsea can’t ask for a game to be postponed because they don’t like their fit options. This is the squad the club built and the one they will have to play with when others are out.
What do you make of this match? Let us know in the comments and on Twitter!