Chelsea racked up 2.2 xG against Everton on Saturday, breaking a run of 6 games in a row where they failed to break the 2 xG mark.
They were really struggling in attack in some of those games, with the poor form of their strikers and the absence of Cole Palmer really starting to bite. Palmer is back now, and it seemed that that helped.
Chelsea xG continues to impress – and defensive numbers getting better
A Chelsea generic group celebration.
A Chelsea generic group celebration. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
Overall the Blues’ xG is second in the league, although Manchester United will likely overtake them when they play tonight.
Their xG against is actually what has let them down relatively. They’re down in 7th in that category, leaving them 5th overall in xG difference per 90. The good news is that that problem should be fixing itself. The partnership of Wesley Fofana and Trevoh Chalobah kept another clean sheet on Saturday, and as long as they’re playing together we expect much better showings defensively.
Of our worst 5 performances in terms of xG against in the Premier League this season, only the game against Manchester United, where we played with 10 men for 85 minutes, came with that pair starting the game.
If those two stay fit and Palmer keeps scoring, we should be on an upwards trajectory in the months to come.
In other news…
Malo Gusto should get a rest tonight – but he’s also a vitally important player for this team given his versatility. Enzo Maresca spoke about his usage in midfield in one of the more interesting answers from the press conference.
Cole Palmer’s status was a major part of the presser. The attacker played and scored on Saturday but still didn’t look 100%, and some have speculated he’s still injured. Maresca gave an update on his status for tonight.