With Chelsea top of our Season Ticker over the next six Gameweeks, and with new signings muddying the waters, we thought we’d get a fan’s eye view of the Blues and their potential in Fantasy Premier League (FPL).
Step forward our colleague Tom, a regular at the Bridge.
Firstly, I would like to move your mind away from the media spin and clickbait posts you see on X about Chelsea’s squad.
The reality is we do not have 45 players in training and vying for minutes. Enzo Maresca has a squad of 21 outfield players, with two options in all positions competing for minutes.
DEFENCE
Gusto/James
Fofana/Colwill/Tosin/Badiashile/Disasi
Cucurella/Viega
MIDFIELD
Lavia/Caicedo
KDH/Enzo/Nkunku/Felix
ATTACK
Palmer/Madueke
Jackson/Guiu
Neto/Mudryk
Between now and the end of the window, the only changes I expect are potentially a striker in, with Marc Guiu (£5.0m) going on loan, and a new centre-back, with Axel Disasi (£4.5m) leaving. It remains possible neither of those happens.
It’s clear that first and second-choice players are emerging, especially in the back four, with Maresca not known for heavy rotation in the Championship. Cole Palmer (£10.5m), Nicolas Jackson (£7.5m) and Christoper Nkunku (£6.5m) are unlikely to be benched with our current squad make-up. I expect Pedro Neto (£6.5m) to move closer to this status soon enough.
Thursday Night Notes
A much-changed Chelsea team beat Swiss side Servette at Stamford Bridge on Thursday night. Only Moises Caicedo (£5.0m) and Nkunku survived from Gameweek 1, with the latter playing a central role. Wesley Fofana (£4.5m) was completely rested and not even named in the UEFA squad, cementing his position as first-choice centre-half in the league.
Neto and Nkunku were withdrawn early, on 57 minutes, perhaps signalling Maresca’s Gameweek 2 priorities in the latter’s case.
The Chelsea boss has since suggested that Neto may not be risked at Molineux.
Nkunku won and scored the opener from the penalty spot in a bright display. He’s much more threatening when playing centrally. Noni Madueke (£6.5m) came on and scored the second goal but Maresca was firm on him afterwards, saying he needed to be better in training throughout the week.
Just a note on the goalkeeper. From a fan’s perspective, Filip Jorgensen (£4.5m) looked very competent with the ball at his feet. He ventured out of his area whilst in possession and pushed up to almost form a back-three at times, looking more comfortable than Robert Sanchez (£4.5m) usually does. He also made a couple of smart saves towards the end.
Maresca said in his post-match presser that the plan is for Sanchez to be the regular starter in the league, although performances will dictate that.
“This is the plan in this moment, but the plan can change. I judge players on their level. If the level continues to be the same, probably Robert will be in goal when we play Premier League, and Filip will be in goal in the Conference League or the cups.
“But in the end, it’s just about performance.” – Enzo Maresca on whether the plan is to rotate his goalkeepers
I’m still not sure I would touch Sanchez in FPL right now!
New Signings
Focusing on Pedro Neto and Joao Felix (£6.5m) in particular.
In the former’s case, I would expect him to start very soon – if not as soon as Gameweek 2 – with the left-wing position very much his to lose. Maresca’s comments on Mykhailo Mudryk (£7.0m) on Thursday are very telling: he is not ready to start Premier League games yet. As a football club, our wingers have lacked consistent end product for years. Neto is the best option we have got.
Joao Felix’s prospects are slightly less clear. In my mind, he has been signed as a back-up to lots of positions. Maresca pointed out the fact he can play CAM, on both wings and up front in a recent press conference. I don’t expect him to start in the Premier League in the immediate future. Indeed, The Athletic has reported he is content to be a back-up option.
In conclusion, Pedro Neto is very much on my watchlist. Joao Felix I don’t expect to be on the FPL radar anytime soon. And more importantly to many of you, I’m anticipating Nkunku to soon start playing centrally in the upcoming fixtures and to justify his pre-season hype.
