Liam Rosenior has the opportunity to secure back-to-back Premier League games when his Chelsea side make the short trip across London to face Crystal Palace.
The Blues were successful against Brentford last weekend, and after Liverpool’s defeat to Bournemouth, a win will take them into the Champions League places.
Rosenior has chopped and changed his starting side across four competitions since he took over the club, offering a clean slate to players who had not had the opportunities they desired under Enzo Maresca.
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The new manager has reached out to individuals low on confidence, and it has to be said that there were some players being overlooked by the Italian during his tenure at the club.
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Liam Rosenior must start Josh Acheampong vs Crystal Palace
One player who fits into that category is Josh Acheampong. The youngster spent nine consecutive games as an unused substitute towards the end of Maresca’s reign.
It was frequently baffling amongst Chelsea fans that the youngster wasn’t being given more opportunities in the first team squad, and had to wait for EFL Cup and Champions League games to feature.
The Blues need to be careful to prove to the England U21 international has a pathway to regular minutes with the club, as a number of clubs circle in on his situation.
Bayern Munich have held a long-term interest in signing Acheampong, and while Chelsea’s stance is that they don’t want to sell, Rosenior must continue to prove to him he is part of the plans.
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Acheampong has already starred against Palace this season
One of the rare games Acheampong did start this season was against Palace on the opening weekend of the season, where Chelsea kept a clean sheet.
The defender enjoyed a physical battle against Jean-Phillipe Mateta, although his presence for the fixture is in doubt after handing in a transfer request to leave the club.
Acheampong has featured in three of the four games managed by Rosenior so far, and a Premier League start would be a real statement that he has the manager’s backing moving forwards.
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