We have had a necessary week without Chelsea games, but it is time to think once again about our next game.
The Blues welcome Sheffield United to Stamford Bridge on Saturday for the Premier League kick-off at 3pm
United are rooted to the bottom of the Premier League table at the moment and have only won two games all season. They have drawn 2 and lost 12. They are really in a relegation battle.
But they actually won their last league game, beating Brentford 1-0, which will have given them the drive and motivation to keep fighting.
However, prior to that match, they had lost 10 of their last 11 matches played, including an 8-0 defeat to Newcastle and a 5-0 defeat to Burnley and Arsenal.
Chris Wilder has had some issues with his team this season trying to keep them fighting in a league that has been a huge leap for them.
All of the above means that despite Chelsea’s terrible recent games, they are expected to win this one with a 78% probability of victory, which will be the highest probability of victory we will have this season.
If Chelsea ever MUST win a game, this is the one I would choose. And it is certainly a game that MUST be won.
United will make it very difficult for us and will try to be organized and difficult to defeat. I don’t foresee any easy games, there are no easy games in this league.
Chelsea have only won one game in their last five matches and our overall form this season so far can be described as inconsistent at the very least.
We need to line up in a way that we take the game to them and have an extra man on offense, while also putting Moisés Caicedo, Enzo Fernández and Cole Palmer in their best positions to give all three a chance to really shine for us. and be at your best.
We have to look at Marc Cucurella and Robert Sánchez, but if they are considered not to be fit enough, then this is what I want to see from Pochettino.
This means using suitable full-backs and also giving Enzo and Caicedo the best opportunity to play as best they can in a pivot.
Cole Palmer is always the better centre-back for me, and having Sterling and Mudryk on the field gives us more attackers and more threat against a team that has been losing goals this season and is at the bottom of the table.
For me, there are no excuses here, this is a MUST win game. Like I said, I don’t foresee Pochettino getting fired if we lose this, but it will severely increase fan pressure and many more will end up turning against him and things will become super toxic. They can’t let that happen.
On paper, with the lineup above, there is no reason why we shouldn’t win this game at home on Saturday. For me the second selection gives us the best opportunity.
I’m not going to predict us winning simply because, as I said, I keep my expectations at zero so the only way is to level or go up. I’m tired of trying to be optimistic.
But that being said, we should win this game. Whether we do it or not is another question.
