The final Premier League match before a nine-day hiatus ended in a 2-1 win for Chelsea on Monday.
We pick the bones out of that one in our next Gameweek 24 Scout Notes.
MARESCA ON BENCHING SANCHEZ
So, Robert Sanchez‘s (£4.7m) rick at the Etihad in Gameweek 23 turned out to be the final straw.
The Spanish ‘keeper was benched at Stamford Bridge on Monday, with Filip Jorgensen (£4.2m) taking his place.
Enzo Maresca, predictably, didn’t describe it as Sanchez being dropped. Instead, he dressed the demotion up as Sanchez needing “a rest”.
“I think in this moment Robert needs a rest, to calm down a little bit, and Philip was very good but I said during the week, the good thing is that we have two good ‘keepers and we can decide.” – Enzo Maresca
It was hard to judge Jorgensen on this one game. His four stops were routine but there were some nervy moments in there too. Not enough to warrant a swift benching but not enough to say for sure whether he’s the long-term answer between the posts.
JACKSON ESCAPES INJURY
An injury to Nicolas Jackson (£7.8m) might not be considered a blow by the Chelsea striker’s remaining owners in FPL.
It looked like the Senegal international’s race was run during the first half of Monday’s encounter. Jackson seemed to suffer a muscle injury when stretching for the ball but soldiered on, eventually being replaced early in the second half.
His replacement, Marc Guiu (£4.7m), was also in the wars after his introduction.
Maresca downplayed any concerns after full-time, however.
“Nico and Marc, to be honest, both they said to me that they are okay. So, hopefully, not one of them is injured.” – Enzo Maresca
Jackson is now eight league games without a goal – his longest barren run since joining the Blues.
BOWEN UP FRONT
West Ham had their own injury concerns going into this game and were without Lucas Paqueta (£5.7m) and Edson Alvarez (£5.0m).
But they could call upon Jarrod Bowen (£7.3m) for the first time this calendar year.
This was also the first match in which new-ish West Ham boss Graham Potter could select Bowen. Potter deployed his captain up front, not that there were many fit alternatives for the role.

Bowen quickly demonstrated his eye for goal. Pouncing on a poor Levi Colwill (£4.5m) pass, he finished superbly past (the slightly flat-footed?) Jorgensen.
Often an FPL asset we take for granted or overlook, he’s right up there again with the leading midfielders for points per match:

West Ham do, of course, now have a bona fide striker to call upon. Evan Ferguson (£5.5m) has signed on loan for the rest of the season, so it’ll be interesting to see if/how quickly Potter integrates the young Irishman into his line-up or whether he’ll be mostly used as an impact substitute. Remember, the Hammers already have Carlos Soler (£5.0m), Paqueta, Mohammed Kudus (£6.2m) and Crysencio Summerville (£5.5m) competing for attacking midfield roles – so there is a chance Bowen stays up top.
“We have to assess that, I think he’s had a few weeks off. I think he played 20 minutes or so at the weekend, so we just need to make sure. We have got some time now until the next game so we’ll help him in training but obviously that’s our challenge now, to make sure that he’s fit, make sure that he’s healthy and enjoying his football. Because he’s a talent.” – Graham Potter on how fit Evan Ferguson is
NOT WHAT THEY WERE
While Chelsea hogged possession, had more shots and ultimately won, it wasn’t exactly convincing.
Watching the game, you were reminded of what these two teams were like earlier in 2024/25.
The Blues, once adept at putting four, five, six goals past opponents, currently lack any sort of fluency. Everything looks so laboured. Cole Palmer (£11.3m) was reduced to ambitious pot-shots from range – he’s perfectly capable of scoring with those, of course, as he nearly did with one superb free-kick here – and a third successive blank was only avoided when his 74th-minute cross took a deflection off Aaron Wan-Bissaka (£4.5m) and found its way in.
He’s not been helped by wasteful team-mates, mind:
Since 4th December, Cole Palmer has created more chances than any other player in Europe’s top five leagues – 32.
He’s registered 0 assists in that time 🙃 pic.twitter.com/3V6s7niJM2
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) February 4, 2025
On the plus side, a very decent run of matches follows. The majority of Palmer’s owners won’t be selling in the next four Gameweeks, at least:

But not many of his teammates are sticking their hands up.
The cycle on the flanks continues: a winger impresses off the bench, gets a promotion, starts to tail off performance-wise and then gets benched again. Substitute Pedro Neto (£6.2m) netted here from a blocked Enzo Fernandez (£4.8m) shot.
The uncertainty at the back continues, too, with not just the ‘keeper changing but the recalled Trevoh Chalobah (£4.4m) swiftly losing his place. Tosin Adarabioyo (£4.2m) came in and was solid, unlike Colwill. Personnel aside, it’s now two clean sheets in 19 league matches…
As for the Hammers, they’re a team on the up if we’re measuring them against the god-awful Lopetegui incarnation. Well-drilled at the rear (and again with Aaron Cresswell (£3.9m) in the back three!), they’ll feel aggrieved at both goal concessions due to a possible foul and a jammy deflection. Further forward, Kudus hit the post and saw a great late chance blocked.
No result here but signs of encouragement.



10 days, 13 hours agoAll welcome 🙂