Chelsea line up to face Burnley at Turf Moor in half an hour, and the team is in.
We predicted many changes in our predicted XI, given it came off the back off the back of the international break, and given there are two huge games next week. But we didn’t necessarily get the changes we expected.
Garnacho out and Gittens in – but don’t get overexcited
Alejandro Garnacho in training.
Alejandro Garnacho in training. (Photo by Warren Little/Getty Images)
What was particularly notable was the first start for two months of Jamie Gittens on the left wing. He replaced Alejandro Garnacho, just at the moment where it seemed like the Argentine had confirmed he was a Maresca favourite.
Not starting today doesn’t mean that Garnacho has lost any status necessarily – he could just be being saved for the games next week. But we don’t see why he couldn’t have played 60 minutes in each of them. Clearly the former Man U man is seen as the more reliable player defensively, meaning he’s needed fresh for Arsenal and Barcelona where we’ll be defending a lot more.
It’s a huge chance for Gittens, who hasn’t had a Premier League start for two months as Garnacho has taken over. He’s got to show he can do damage and be a proper trusted starter out there before the competition for minutes gets even more intense.
We were a little disappointed by his appearances earlier in the season – but it’s only the start of his Chelsea career and he looked better in recent cameos.
In other team news…
It wasn’t just changes in attack that Enzo Maresca has made today, his full team has as much rotation as we expected, and sometimes in unusual areas.
Burnley are going to put up a serious fight this afternoon, and Maresca has already been getting some excuses in early ahead of the game…
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Stamford Bridge generic.
A flag flying at Stamford Bridge.
Enzo Maresca dressed badly on the touchline.