• April 8, 2022
• Olaoluwa Nwobodo

It is important to find out the problems with Chelsea before the Southampton game. It is more important that Thomas Tuchel doesn’t overthink things now. Tuchel called the Brentford loss a blip in the pre-match press conference of the Real Madrid game. Chelsea has been largely consistent since the turn of the year. They had only lost just one game in regulation time in 2022 as of a week ago. Now they’ve lost two home games back-to-back. “Home games” may be a bit disingenuous as there have been sanctions to prevent many Chelsea fans from attending home games. Chelsea needs to win this game, not only because they need to put more gap between themselves and whoever is in fourth place, but also because they desperately need to get back to winning ways. Here’s who we think gets the nod.

Goalkeeper: Edouard Mendy, or is it?

Mendy has had a disappointing last two games. From misdistribution to letting in easy goals, the Senegalese penalty hero would want to forget the Brentford and Real Madrid games very quickly. This can only be done when he starts churning out outstanding performances again. Kepa Arrizabalaga is waiting in the wings and if Mendy has a performance even close to the Real Madrid one again, Arrizabalaga is definitely getting the nod for the next one.

Defenders: Back to the Rudiger-Silva-Azpilicueta partnership

This was the centerback partnership Tuchel started with on his arrival at Stamford Bridge. They impressed and he has stuck with them ever since, for the most part. Chelsea is now in a really bad place and Tuchel is likely to go back to something he’s sure works. Silva is Chelsea’s best centerback but that didn’t show against Brentford and Real Madrid. His spatial awareness was off and his tracking of runners was inadequate.

Rudiger has been very good since Tuchel came in, but he has been less than impeccable this season. He has been quite frankly rubbish in the last two games. One takeaway from the past few games is that Rudiger is not one of the best centerbacks in the world, and he never has been. Replacing Rudiger would be easier than Chelsea fans think.

Azpilicueta was the best defender in blue against Real Madrid. He won more duels and aerial duels than anyone else on the Chelsea team. He was played out of position but he still managed to create a big chance for Romelu Lukaku, a chance Lukaku headed off target. Azpilicueta’s leadership would be crucial against Southampton.

Midfielders: Jorginho-Kovacic pivot from way back when

You may remember that a pivot of Jorginho and Mateo Kovacic epitomized Tuchel’s early days in charge. These two were bossing midfield battles. They finally got their credit when they dominated the Atletico Madrid midfield across two legs.  Their superb passing, work rate, and athleticism helped Chelsea to press, build-up and resist pressure.

These two, especially Kovacic became so important to how Chelsea wanted to play. Expect these two to return as Tuchel tries to figure out why Chelsea is suddenly so bad at the one thing they were known to be good at: defending.

Reece James and Marcos Alonso should return to the lineup. Tuchel has been trying to manage the minutes of key players. This saw Alonso sit out the embarrassment of Chelsea at the hands of the Spanish league leaders.

Forwards: Romelu Lukaku to be restored with Hakim Ziyech and Kai Havertz in support.

Havertz was the only one who justified being on the pitch. Lukaku started on the bench and was brought on for Christian Pulisic. He didn’t get much of the ball, but he did get a chance to take it from 3-1 to 3-2 and failed to.

Ziyech needs to play behind the two center forwards as the sole number 10. He needs to have creative freedom. He was on the pitch for 45 minutes and only made 17 passes. He should have crossed a lot more as he’s the best at it in the Chelsea squad. He’s likely to have more passing options if he has the freedom to operate more centrally. Ziyech has created more clear-cut chances than any Chelsea player in all competitions this season and it’s in Chelsea’s best interest that they involve him in play as much as possible.

Romelu Lukaku has been on the bench for six of the last seven games for Chelsea. This is frustrating because he’s fit and even more frustrating because some of those who have been starting in his place have not justified the decision in all six games he didn’t start. Lukaku is crucial to Chelsea achieving their goals this season, whatever those goals are.

Prediction: Mendy, Azpilicueta, Silva, Rudiger, James, Jorginho, Kovacic, Alonso, Ziyech, Havertz, Lukaku