Chelsea and Arsenal play out a goalless first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final, which does little to ease the strain on the Blues squad in particular.
If Antonio Conte or Arsene Wenger were hoping to strike a decisive blow in last night’s cup tie – one emphatic enough to allow some rotation in the second leg – then the subsequent stalemate was about as bad as it could get.
In truth, the match wasn’t that much better and, from a Fantasy perspective, issues occurred about as frequently as decent chances.
After dabbling with fringe players in the FA Cup, both managers fielded much stronger teams at Stamford Bridge.
Conte made nine changes to the XI that drew with Norwich City, with only Danny Drinkwater and Antonio Rudiger retaining their places in a side as close to full strength as it could be.
Eden Hazard had a quiet match, mustering a single shot and creating two chances for team-mates. He now has just one goal and an assist from his last seven starts in all competitions as his 8.1% ownership continues to shrink.
More than 50,000 have sold him on ahead of Gameweek 23 and he has suffered net sales for five straight Gameweeks now.
Striker Alvaro Morata is faring little better, with only two goals since Gameweek 15. He fired three shots in last night’s tie but lost close to 200,000 owners ahead of Gameweek 23, and 100,000+ have joined the exodus ahead of Saturday’s 2pm deadline, making him the fifth most sold player to date.
In midfield, Conte partnered Drinkwater with N’Golo Kante from the start for the first time, allowing Cesc Fabregas to exert his influence further up the pitch and the Spaniard came closest to breaking the deadlock on the night when his deflected shot hit the post. Fabregas also supplied a match-high six key passes, while only Cesar Azpilicueta had more touches of the ball.
If Conte persists with a 3-5-1-1, the 3.4% owned Fabregas should be allowed to continue in a more advanced role. That would make him a viable alternative to the pricey and out-of-form Hazard and Morata to cover Chelsea’s very favourable upcoming fixtures (LEI bha BOU wat WBA).
Andreas Christensen also had two opportunities to break the deadlock. The classy Dane returned to the Blues three-man defence and impressed in his own half, but was guilty of a glaring second-half miss from a Fabregas corner. His first Chelsea goal is long overdue.
The problem for managers trying to tap into the Blues’ assets is their hectic schedule.
Should they see off Norwich in next Wednesday’s FA Cup third round replay, they will have played six more matches in all competitions by the end of this month, with Champions League action to come in February.
The second leg of the EFL Cup tie takes place on Wednesday, January 24, and is so finely poised that both sides will surely be at full strength once again.
As a result, the two league fixtures that bookend it could well involve bouts of rotation from both managers, although Arsenal’s early exit from the FA Cup does allow Wenger a touch more breathing space.
Chelsea travel to Brighton and then host Bournemouth either side of the semi-final, while the Gunners entertain Crystal Palace before travelling to Swansea City.
Arsenal, meanwhile, were without Mesut Ozil who missed out last night with a minor knee problem, while Wenger also opted to leave Alexis Sanchez on the bench. That was a decision that lead to inevitable speculation surrounding the Chilean’s future, with Wenger forced to stress post-match that there was no connection with a potential January move to Manchester City.
“I thought I would bring him on after an hour, I knew we had to defend more and he could make the decision in the last 30 minutes. It was nothing to do with transfers.”
Alexandre Lacazette, Alex Iwobi and Danny Welbeck formed the Gunners’ front three, although Ozil, if fit, and Sanchez would be expected to replace the latter pair for Sunday’s trip to Bournemouth.
The north London outfit are very likely to be without Jack Wilshere at the Vitality Stadium, though. Post-match, Wenger offered this update on the midfielder, who was forced off early in the second-half:
“He has an ankle sprain and the first look at it was not too bad, but of course for Sunday I think he will be short. I do not know how long he will be out. It is a shame to lose him when he is such good form and it was by blocking the shot that turned his ankle and it’s his good ankle so I am quite positive”.
With Sead Kolasinac, Nacho Monreal and Laurent Koscielny all missing out through injury, Wenger retained the same back-three that started against Chelsea in Gameweek 22, as Rob Holding and, in particular, Callum Chambers, impressed alongside Shkodran Mustafi.
Ashley Maitland-Niles once again caught the eye at left wing-back, and his performances continue to suggest that, when fit, Kolasinac may struggle to find his way back onto the teamsheet.
