An oft-quoted reason for Chelsea’s success this season has been the consistency in first-team personnel. But Chelsea’s defence, once so firm, has been going through an uncertain time recently with various players being rested. Manager Jose Mourinho has said he will continue to give players “new periods to breathe so they can face the second part of December,” so I think we can expect more rotation over the month. This article looks at who is safest and who could earn a rest next.
Looking at the recent defensive rotations, I think the next up for a Premier League rest will be Gary Cahill, who is set to be excused from League Cup duties this week and I fancy will earn another rest, in the Premier League, against either Stoke or West Ham. The safest options over the next five game weeks should be John Terry and Branislav Ivanovic, who both earned a Champions League rest at the start of the month. Cesar Azpilicueta, too, has also already earned a Premier League rest in December, in the Gameweek 16 clash against Hull. This indicates that he too could be safe from further rotation, although Mourinho has Felipe Luis to call on to deputise for him.
Here are some of the reasons behind this thinking that Gary Cahill is the least safe Chelsea backline option over Christmas.
Upcoming Fixtures
The fixtures over the next five Gameweeks are kind and interspersed with league and FA Cup duties.
Derby 16 Dec (Capital One Cup)
Stoke 22 Dec
West Ham 26 Dec
Southampton 28 Dec
Tottenham 1 Jan
Watford 4 Jan (FA Cup)
Newcastle 10 Jan
The next group of fixtures starts with the league cup quarter final vs Derby, which should see wholesale changes. Derby are a side in great form, and given the narrow margin of Chelsea’s 2-1 victory over Shrewsbury last time out, Mourinho will not take them lightly. But Mourinho has been playing a virtual ‘B team’ in the League Cup to date, and whilst he played a strong team in last year’s unsuccessful quarter final, I think this year his ‘B team’ is strong enough to do the business. It is safe to say that if any of the regular four defenders turn out for the cup match they will most likely not be rocking up to Stoke as well. However, owners of Azpilicueta may be able to breathe a sigh of relief due to his benching in Gameweek 16.
Recent Teamsheets
Gary Cahill is the only defender to have played every match since the international break last month. whilst the other three have been rested in the last two fixtures. This adds further weight to the argument that Cahill is next to succumb to festive rotation.
Gameweek 16 line up (13 Dec)
Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Luis
Rest: Azpilicueta
Champions League line up (10 Dec)
Luis, Cahill, Zouma, Azpilicueta
Rest: Terry and Ivanovic
Gameweek 15 line up (6 Dec)
Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Azpilicueta (67)
Rest: none
Gameweek 14 line up (3 Dec)
Ivanovic, Cahill (46), Terry, Azpilicueta
Rest: none
Gameweek 13 line up (29 Nov)
Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Azpilicueta
Rest: none
Champions League line up (25 Nov)
Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Azpilicueta
Rest: none
Gameweek 12 line up (22 Nov)
Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Azpilicueta
Rest: none
Corresponding 2013 fixtures
Looking at the corresponding group of five Premier League fixtures last year, Terry was the only one to be ever-present, adding further weight to the premise that he rather than Cahill is the safest Chelsea centre-back to draft in over Christmas.
Terry (5)
Azpilicueta (4)
Cahill (4)
Ivanovic (3)
Conclusion
Owners of Cahill should be on standby for a benching within the next two Premier League matches and ensure they have a strong bench to cope with his absence. In contrast, Terry’s owners should be able to breathe a sigh of relief, as can Ivanovic and Azpilicueta owners to a slightly lesser extent. Investment in Gary Cahill may be ill-advised at this stage of the season.
In summary, this year, I suspect Terry is the safest option with the remaining three defenders rotating out over the next five Gameweeks.
9 years, 5 months ago
Cheers for the article. Certainly nervous times for those of us with a Chelsea defender over Christmas.