Chelsea has done the double over AC Milan and has won a Champions League game in Italy for the first since Claudio Ranieri was manager. For context, that’s the season Roman Abramovich bought the club 19 years ago. The Blues travel to Villa Park to try and add more points on the board, more goals to their name, and more clean sheets to their records. Here’s who we think Graham Potter selects to extend this impeccable run.
Chelsea’s Kepa Arrizabalaga (No. 1) Goalkeeper, Spain
Arrizabalaga now has three clean sheets in his last three games for CFC in all competitions. He faced just two shots in the last game but he dealt with some dangerous crosses before they developed into anything and he deserves huge credit.
Trevoh Chalobah (No. 14) Right centerback, England
Chalobah has earned a starting spot with his recent performances, which makes you wonder why Tuchel was so reluctant to use him that he preferred to play Reece James there. Chelsea’s three consecutive clean sheets have also come with Chalobah playing all three games.
Thiago Silva (No. 6) Centerback, Brazil
Silva’s passing was especially good against Milan during the week. He had a 95 per cent passing accuracy but also completed 11/13 long balls. He was once again superb at the back for the Blues and we might be running out of superlatives for him, hopefully, we don’t.
Marc Cucurella (No. 32) Left centerback, Spain
Cucurella is likely to start this weekend at left centerback, not particularly because of anything to do with Kalidou Koulibaly’s performance, but because it seems that Potter has decided to rotate them for Champions League and Premier League games, which is smart.
Ben Chilwell (No. 21) Left wingback, England
Chilwell was alright. He didn’t have much to do defensively and was OK offensively.
Cesar Azpilicueta (No. 28) Right wingback, Spain
Azpilicueta came on for an injured James midweek and he likely starts this one. Even if James’s injury isn’t too serious, Potter and the medical staff will want to take precautions and not risk a more serious injury. Azpilicueta also deserves to start in his own right as he looked very good in the Crystal Palace game last Saturday.
Mateo Kovacic (No. 8) Right central midfielder, Croatia
Kovacic has had much better performances in a Chelsea shirt. His dribbling against Milan at the San Siro was less than impressive, completing 0/2. His passing was superb, but he only won 2/9 duels. He might make way for Ruben Loftus-Cheek before too long.
Jorginho (No. 5) Central midfielder, Italy
Jorginho put on a Man-of-the-Match-worthy performance against Milan. He made 12 passes in the final third, completed 97% of his passes, and made seven defensive actions, including 3/3 tackles won and two interceptions. He won 4/6 ground duels. Jorginho played the role of Midfield Maestro impeccably.
Raheem Sterling (No. 17) Left attacking midfielder, England
Sterling’s dribbling was, again, poor and offered very little on the ball. He took just one shot, which was blocked, and won 0/6 duels. Christian Pulisic and Conor Gallagher have made better cases to start and Sterling has to buckle up. Yes, he offers a lot off-the-ball, but Pulisic does as well, and off-the-ball can’t be all you’re useful for.
Mason Mount (No. 19) Right attacking midfielder, England
Mount has upped his game in the last week and deserves credit. In the last two games, he has created eight chances, including two big chances. CFC has been lacking in big chances this season so it’s a relief to see Mount step up to the plate.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (No. 9) Center forward, Gabon
Aubameyang has scored again, and this time he almost stole it from Sterling’s foot. He took three shots, with two being on target. He needs to take more shots, but there’s nothing to worry about there because as his confidence grows, he’d be taking more shots and getting into more shooting positions. Safe to say that three goals in four games would be a decent confidence boost.