15 games, five wins, four draws and six losses do not make a great reading for a club like Chelsea this season but context is very important. The Blues are amidst a rebuilding phase under manager Mauricio Pochettino and have fared much better than they did last campaign.
Chelsea have aggregated 19 points in 15 games in the Premier League. That is a bleak 1.27 PPG. They have scored 26 goals and conceded 24. They have accumulated an xG of 29.3 whilst conceding an xGA of 22.6. It shows that they have been underperforming and should be scoring more and conceding fewer goals.
The issue with Chelsea this season has been the fact that they have been extremely unpredictable. A sumptuous win is almost always followed by an insipid loss and the Blues have been unable to gain any momentum this season.
Pochettino’s side come into this game after losing to Manchester United. Facing Everton in their current form is not going to be an easy task. The Toffees are wounded tigers, still hurting from their points deduction and looking to swat aside anyone who comes their way.
We at ASBTF bring to you three key talking points for Chelsea, ahead of their showdown against Sean Dyche’s men.
1. Set Pieces: Everton’s lethal weapon
Everton are statistically the tallest team in the Premier League, boasting an average height of 1.85 metres per player. Chelsea, on the other hand, are the second shortest side with an average of 1.78m per player. This could be a challenge that the Blues will have to negotiate in their clash against the Toffees.
That said, Mauricio Pochettino has the habit of starting three centre-backs in his back four. Thiago Silva, Axel Disasi, Levi Colwill and Benoit Badiashile are all physically imposing in the air and have gotten to the end of corners and freekicks on more than one occasion this season.
Set pieces could be a major deciding factor in how the result pans out in this game. The Blues will need to be very attentive and switched on during corners and freekicks. Everton can hurt us very badly in this regard and Mauricio Pochettino acknowledged the same in his pre-match press conference.
2. Chelsea’s £221.8m midfield conundrum
Just spending money alone does not buy you success in football and Chelsea have learned this the hard way. The Blues spent a combined £221.8m for Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo. Enzo was signed for £106.8m from Benfica and Caicedo was signed for £115m from Brighton.
Whilst Enzo has been good individually for the Blues, he is yet to strike a partnership with Moises Caicedo in the middle of the field. On the other hand, the Ecuadorian has struggled to replicate the kind of form he showed during his time at Brighton & Hove Albion.
Mauricio Pochettino urged the fans to give time for the pair to settle and start playing well together. That said, considering the kind of money the Blues spent on the player, it is understandable that people expect a return on investment really soon. If the duo don’t start clicking soon, Pochettino might have some tough decisions to make.
3. The anonymous number nine
Chelsea’s squad roster does not have a number nine. Do they really have one on the pitch though? For much of this season, with the exception of a few games like the one against Tottenham, the Blues’ number nine has been anonymous irrespective of who has been deployed in that position.
Nicolas Jackson is flattering to deceive. He is having a difficult time adapting to the Premier League. Armando Broja is struggling to recover fully from his injury. Cole Palmer, although not a number nine, has played well in that position in the limited opportunities that he has had.
Christopher Nkunku’s recovery from injury could not have come sooner for Mauricio Pochettino. The Frenchman has proven to be a prolific goalscorer in the past. How he returns from injury though could go a long way in shaping Chelsea’s season from here on. Let’s wait and see how it goes.