Can Chelsea end their ongoing miserable run of form and keep their Champions League hopes alive? Right now, Liam Rosenior's side has lost four successive Premier League matches, all without scoring, most recently beaten 1-0 by Manchester United at Stamford Bridge on Saturday night. Another defeat to nil when they visit Brighton on Tuesday night would equal the unwanted club record set all the way back in 1912.
In further bad news, at the weekend, Estêvão Willian tweaked his hamstring early on against Man United, with Rosenior confirming that the Brazilian was "devastated", amid fears his club season could be over. This will force the manager to tinker with his attack, so here are three players who will be key to the Blues chances of a much-needed win in Sussex, and where they should be utilised.
João Pedro to replace Liam Delap in attack
Liam Delap led the line on Saturday night as top-scorer João Pedro watched on from just behind the dugout. That's because the Brazilian "felt his thigh" during training last week, although Rosenior then stated "hopefully we'll have him back for Brighton". Should Pedro be able to return, doing so against his former club of course, this would make such a difference.
He was actually the last Chelsea player to score in the Premier League, bagging a hat-trick during a 4-1 demolition at Villa Park a whopping 48 days ago. Both Delap and Pedro arrived in the summer, at which point there was a question mark around who would be first-choice, but a clear hierarchy has been firmly established.
Statistics (per 90) | Liam Delap | João Pedro |
|---|---|---|
Goals | 0.2 | 0.6 |
Assists | 0 | 0.2 |
Shots | 2.5 | 1.8 |
Shots on target | 1.2 | 1.1 |
Shooting accuracy % | 45.8% | 58.7% |
Chances created | 0.4 | 1.1 |
Passes completed | 11.2 | 17.6 |
Touches | 32.3 | 41.6 |
% of touches in the box | 15.8% | 10.3% |
The underlying statistics emphasise that Pedro offers exponentially more to this Chelsea team than Delap does. Well, as does the fact that the Brazilian has scored 19 times this season, while the Englishman has just two goals to his name, on target against Barcelona and Fulham. Thus, getting Pedro back in the side at the Amex will surely help cure Chelsea's goal-scoring woes.
Cole Palmer on the right-wing
Amazingly, given their transfer policy in recent times, Chelsea are slightly short of winger options right now. Jamie Gittens and now Estêvão are sidelined, with the latter replaced by Alejandro Garnacho at the weekend, only for the Argentine to put in, and it is no exaggeration to say, one of the worst individual displays anyone has ever seen. Therefore, surely he cannot be rewarded with a start this time. Rosenior should switch Palmer from his more central role out to the right flank.
The Seagulls are Palmer's joint-favourite opponents, having netted five times against them to date, including four during the first half of their visit to Stamford Bridge last season, also on target by the South Coast in May 2024. The 23 year old has ten goals to his name this season but, as Chelsea's clear talisman, often gets crowded out of the game. He may find more space to operate out-wide, directly up against Ferdi Kadıoğlu who often likes to bomb forward, leaving gaps to exploit.
Enzo Fernández as the number ten
Were Rosenior to move Palmer out-wide, this would allow him to bolster his midfield trio, where Fabian Hürzeler's team are particularly strong. At the weekend, Enzo Fernández was back following his internal two-match suspension due to comments he made about potentially wanting to leave the club during the international break.
This has been the Argentine's best campaign in West London, certainly when it comes to scoring goals, having netted 12 times to date. He is though at his best when given more licence to get forward and support the attack, as oppose to being deployed in a deeper role.
As they seek to end their 386-minute wait for a league goal, Rosenior should bring in Andrey Santos or Roméo Lavia to partner Moisés Caicedo, pushing Fernández closer to the front three. Currently seven points adrift of the Champions League spot, this clash with Brighton might just be a must-win, and they'll have to score a goal to achieve this.
Add us as a preferred source on Google