It was a mixed bag from Chelsea in their midweek win against Wolverhampton Wanderers, but one Blues star may have just done enough to keep his spot for the upcoming trip to Tottenham.
After securing a 4-3 away win at Wolves on Wednesday night, Chelsea are through to the Carabao Cup quarter-finals to face Cardiff City.
Now, the attention goes towards the crucial away fixture at Spurs this weekend. The Premier League fixture is always an important one on the football calendar, but it feels extra significant because Enzo Maresca’s side have lost three of their previous five league matches.
Gary Neville recently described Chelsea as a yo-yo because of their inconsistent form this season, which is a harsh but fair assessment. Blues supporters will be desperately hoping that their team turn up as the best version of themselves at Spurs.
Chelsea players celebrating a goal against Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Carabao Cup tie.
Photo by Stuart Leggett/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Jamie Gittens may be undroppable vs Tottenham
Without a doubt, Jamie Gittens was the star of the show for the Blues in the seven-goal thriller against Wolves.
Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca made 10 changes to his starting line-up for the Carabao Cup tie in midweek, with Josh Acheampong the only survivor. If anybody put their hand up to stay in the XI for the Spurs showdown, it was definitely Gittens.
Gittens scored a stunning goal against Wolves, his first for Chelsea, with a thunderous half-volley from outside the box. On top of that, the skilful left-winger also provided two assists to help secure cup success on the road.
Based on his debut season at Stamford Bridge, Gittens is very much a rhythm player who will thrive when he picks up confidence. Therefore, it could be very difficult to leave him out of the side on Saturday away to Spurs.
He couldn’t have done much more with his dazzling performance out wide against Wolves. As for his competition, Alejandro Garnacho is still getting up to full speed on the left wing despite scoring his first Chelsea goal in last weekend’s league defeat at home to Sunderland.
Even though Gittens divided opinion within the Chelsea fanbase a few weeks ago, it feels like he’s finding his groove and recapturing some of the form he showed at Borussia Dortmund.
There is a strong argument to be made that the Englishman has deserved a start at Spurs.
Jamie Gittens celebrates scoring for Chelsea against Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Carabao Cup.
Photo by DARREN STAPLES/AFP via Getty Images
Chelsea have a real injection of pace and directness when Gittens plays as the left-winger. Of course, he’s got to find the consistency to elevate himself to the status as a top-class player, but he’s got so many fundamental skills to carve out a very successful career.
According to FOTMOB, Gittens completed the most dribbles (five) and created the most chances (three) in Chelsea’s win against Wolves. It was certainly the best we’ve seen from him since his summer transfer arrival.
We suspect that Spurs right-back Pedro Porro would much rather be in direct opposition with Garnacho than Gittens this Saturday.