Through four matches, most Chelsea fans are somewhat disappointed with the current record of 2 wins, 1 loss, and 1 draw, but I (surprisingly) have a more positive outlook. From my perspective, I believe the tactical flexibility and depth Chelsea have shown so far inspires a lot of confidence and opens great possibilities for the remaining 34 matches this season. Our options across the front 4 are plentiful and offer a variety of different player profiles that will share the workload this season. We now look ahead to West Ham, at London Stadium – never an easy matchup.
Predicted Lineup (4-2-3-1)
Jackson
Sancho Palmer Madueke
Enzo Caicedo
Cucurella Colwill Fofana Malo Gusto
Roberto Sanchez
Three notable changes from the last XI against Bournemouth are Sancho (in for Neto), Enzo (in for Veiga), and Malo Gusto (in for Disasi).
Supporters will absolutely hope to see more of Jadon Sancho, the Man of the Match last weekend after assisting Nkunku on the game winning goal. His creativity and ability to cut in on his right foot from the left will be exciting to watch all season – we’re hoping he can continue to provide goal contributions. He’ll take over for Pedro Neto, our starting left winger last week, who was uninspiring and simply doesn’t provide the same threat that Sancho does.
Enzo Fernandez is expected to step into the XI ahead of Renato Veiga, who got the nod last weekend. Veiga can certainly do the job when called upon, but Enzo and Caicdeo are intended to be the main midfield duo going forward. Enzo has since recovered from illness he picked up after international duty, so we’re hoping the Argentinian can start contributing to success and prove that he’s worth even a portion of the €121 million price tag. Do I expect him to prove that he’s worth that much money? Absolutely not. Is it possible that he lives up to the hype? Maybe…?
Finally, Malo Gusto should slot back into the XI this weekend. Axel Disasi filling in at right back against Bournemouth was not a good watch for Chelsea fans. Admittedly, he was playing out of position, but Bournemouth were able to target that side and exploit the weakness down Chelsea’s right hand side. Both defensively and in possession, Malo Gusto simply must start this weekend. Of course, the elephant in the room is the fitness of Reece James. I don’t even want to talk about it. Will he ever live up to the hype? Will he ever be fit to start in 20+ league games in a season? Who knows. Regardless, Malo Gusto is the guy now, and he’ll be vital to this team going forward.
After these three changes, I do believe that Chelsea’s XI will remain consistent from last weekend. Nicholas Jackson will likely start, but we simply need more goals out of him. On the other hand, Nkunku played for 11 minutes and proved to be the hero. As we have mentioned before, Nkunku isn’t necessarily a real #9, nor is he enough of a #10 to take the spot way from Cole Palmer. For now, I do believe Nkunku will consistently feature off the bench, and give opposing defenses someone to worry about with his unique player profile. Essentially, Nicholas Jackson will continue to get the nod, but it remains to be seen how long this will continue, when Nkunku, Joao Felix, and even Jadon Sancho are more than capable of featuring in a center forward, false 9, or even a defacto traditional 9 role.
I believe the biggest threat that West Ham will pose to Chelsea this weekend will be on the wings, with Mohammed Kudus and Jarrod Bowen. Cucurella and Malo Gusto simply must be on the top of their game this weekend, as West Ham’s wingers will play with pace, trickery, and confidence at their home pitch. Through four matches, Kudus has 0 goals and 0 assists, and Bowen has 1 goal and 2 assists, but they continue to get into dangerous positions and isolate fullbacks, so goal contributions will come in time. I believe that if Chelsea can neutralize these two players for a majority of the match, the attacking prowess of our front 4 will create enough changes to win this game.
Score prediction: 3-1
Goal scorers: Jackson (2), Palmer (1), Bowen (1)