You do not have to be a football expert to know that Liam Rosenior is not walking into an easy job at Chelsea.
Rosenior takes over a Chelsea team that have won just one game from their past nine Premier League fixtures.
Cole Palmer’s form is also a bit of a concern. The attacking midfielder played well in the second half of Chelsea’s defeat to Fulham, but his performance levels in the first 45 minutes and previous games have not been where they usually are.
To make things even more difficult for Rosenior, several players are also out injured.
Malo Gusto of Chelsea during the Premier League match between Fulham and Chelsea
Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images
Malo Gusto limped out of Craven Cottage
Levi Colwill, Romeo Lavia and Dario Essugo are currently sidelined, and it looks like Malo Gusto could join them in the stands.
Journalist Bobby Vincent has shared on X that Gusto limped out of Craven Cottage following his side’s 2-1 loss to Fulham.
Rosenior will be hoping that it is nothing serious and that the right-back is fit enough to play on Saturday.
Chelsea have another London derby, taking on Charlton Athletic in the third round of the FA Cup. If Gusto does miss the game, Reece James or Josh Acheampong could start instead.
With it being a cup game, Acheampong is likely to be in contention to start in the right-back position anyway. After Charlton, Chelsea face Arsenal in the Carabao Cup semi-finals.
New Chelsea manager Liam Rosenior during the Premier League match between Fulham and Chelsea
Photo by Rob Newell – CameraSport via Getty Images
Malo Gusto has been Chelsea’s best full-back this season
It took a while for Gusto to adapt to playing as an inverted full-back under Enzo Maresca. Even in the early part of the current campaign, the 22-year-old struggled in the role.
However, as this season has progressed, Gusto has really improved and become effective. The Frenchman has even managed to score a couple of goals in the Premier League.
START, BENCH, SELL: Marc Cucurella, Reece James and Malo Gusto
Chelsea defender Marc Cucurella coming on for Malo Gusto
Photo by Chris Lee – Chelsea FC/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
Which order are you going with? 🤔
👇 Join the debate; share your insight. Use the comment button on the bottom left to have your say
In the 2024/25 and 2023/24 campaigns, Gusto did not score at all. Overall, you would still probably say that James and Marc Cucurella are the better full-backs, but the former has spent a lot of time in midfield lately, while the latter has not been as much of a threat going forward compared to last year.
Cucurella has not found the back of the net this term and was sent off on Wednesday night. Right now, he is definitely not at the top of his game.
Join Our Newsletter
Receive a digest of our best Chelsea content each week direct to your mailbox