Chelsea's results in recent times have been decent. Of course, the loss at the hands of Sunderland and the draw away to Qarabag still sting, but there can be off days for any team. Overall, their record has been pretty good. At the same time, one could argue that it has been due to a relatively easy run of fixtures. Well, things are about to get a lot tougher with the Blues set to face Arsenal and Barcelona soon.
They are two of the best teams in Europe right now. So, we will learn a lot about this Chelsea team over the course of the next week or so.
One of the major issues that Chelsea have had to deal with this season is their fitness record. A number of their key players have spent time out on the sidelines, leaving Enzo Maresca scrambling for options at times.
Fortunately, it looks like there is some good news for Chelsea heading into the festive fixture rush. It looks like Benoit Badiashile is back available, and a couple of others have recovered from their fitness issues as well. As reported by The Standard, Maresca said:
"Benoit is back. He can be available for tomorrow, that's great news for us.
“And then Enzo and Pedro, they used the international break to recover a little bit of energy, also to recover from the injury, the problems they had, and they are both available for tomorrow."
Chelsea confirm triple injury boost before facing Arsenal and Barcelona
Of course, both Pedro Neto and Enzo Fernandez have been playing regularly, even though they have dealt with minor fitness issues here and there. This international break must have helped them recover from those.
It is the return of Badiashile that is bigger news for Chelsea. He looked phenomenal in that game against Liverpool before picking up an injury.
If we can get that version of Badiashile on a consistent basis moving forward, then Chelsea would have a much better chance of winning trophies. The problem is, the Frenchman has struggled with his fitness since arriving at Stamford Bridge and at this point, it is hard to expect him to remain fit for any considerable length of time. Let's just hope he can prove us wrong this time around.