Simply three days after Chelsea beat Tottenham at Stamford Bridge 1-0, Enzo Maresca’s facet are set to tackle Brentford on the Gtech Stadium, in search of one other vital three factors.
Each sport is sort of a cup ultimate now for the Blues, who’re chasing UEFA Champions League qualification, presently sitting 4th within the Premier League on 52 factors after 30 video games performed, only one level forward of fifth-placed Manchester Metropolis and two factors forward of sixth-placed Newcastle.
With simply eight video games to go, Chelsea will probably be treating this Brentford conflict as a must-win sport, one thing that felt clear on Thursday night time as Maresca determined to relaxation Reece James, to be able to preserve him prepared.
Newest Chelsea group information
Maresca will probably be with out two key figures, as each Wesley Fofana and Roméo Lavia have sustained accidents once more, which is able to preserve them out in the intervening time.
Fofana is a large miss, with the Italian already stating how a lot he “loves” the French defender, who’s made 14 appearances this season, maintaining 4 clear sheets and totaling 1,176 minutes performed.
On a extra constructive word, Chelsea have now obtained all of Nicolas Jackson, Noni Madueke, and Cole Palmer again from their harm woes, all taking part in an element towards Tottenham the opposite night time of their 1-0 victory.
The return of this trio has given Maresca some choice complications, as he now has choices to reevaluate his facet and make changes based mostly on the opposition and sport plan.
Why Chelsea should drop Pedro Neto
Pedro Neto has completed a great job filling in for the likes of Jackson and Madueke in current weeks, taking part in as each a winger and centre-forward to plug gaps for Maresca when wanted.
Nevertheless, towards Tottenham, Neto did lose possession 11 occasions, solely finishing one in all his three dribble makes an attempt and receiving a yellow card in his 90 minutes performed, as he did not make any important influence on the prime finish of the pitch.
While Jadon Sancho additionally had a poor efficiency, he solely performed 68 minutes, nonetheless shedding possession 9 occasions and failing his solely dribble try of the sport. One of many pair ought to be taken out for Madueke, who was capable of get 22 minutes into his legs, coming from the bench towards Spurs.
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Pedro Neto vs Noni Madueke comparability |
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|---|---|---|
|
Stats (per 90 minutes) |
Neto |
Madueke |
|
Objectives |
0.22 |
0.35 |
|
Assists |
0.15 |
0.30 |
|
xG |
0.12 |
0.46 |
|
xAG |
0.25 |
0.22 |
|
Progressive Carries |
5.17 |
6.77 |
|
Progressive Passes |
2.33 |
3.35 |
|
Pictures Complete |
2.08 |
3.90 |
|
Key Passes |
1.83 |
1.46 |
|
Shot-Creating Actions |
3.44 |
3.72 |
|
Profitable Take-Ons |
1.39 |
1.71 |
|
Stats taken from FBref |
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When evaluating Madueke and Neto’s underlying metrics this season, you possibly can see the directness you achieve from beginning the Englishman, who supplies the next quantity of pictures, carries, and take-ons, while additionally discovering himself in goal-scoring positions extra continuously.
Maresca himself has already labeled Madueke as “improbable” this season, referring to his hat-trick towards Wolves within the opening weeks of the marketing campaign. This season, the 23-year-old winger has made 29 appearances for the Blues, scoring eight objectives, offering 4 assists, and totaling 1,675 minutes performed, simply being Chelsea’s most efficient winger by way of attacking output.
Due to this fact, taking part in towards a low-block group in Brentford, who will look to chop off area in behind as a lot as doable, it may very well be the right time to axe Neto, carry Madueke into the lineup on the suitable, and preserve Sancho on the left, who maybe fits the tighter areas Chelsea will face towards the Bees.
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