Chelsea can move up to fourth place in the Premier League if they win their last game before the international break on Saturday night at Everton’s new Hill Dickinson Stadium. The Blues are coming off three straight losses, including a humiliating 8–2 aggregate loss to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League round of 16 and a 1–0 home loss to Newcastle United in the Premier League.
Liam Rosenior has once again chosen Jorrel Hato to play centre-back, and Roméo Lavia will start next to Moisés Caicedo in the middle. The Chelsea line-up are as follows in a 4-2-3-1 formation: Sánchez; Cucurella, Hato, Fofana, Gusto; Lavia, Caicedo; Enzo (c), Palmer, Neto; João Pedro.
Rosenior made it clear what he wanted to do before the game, talking about how the team wanted to respond after a tough week at his pre-match press conference:
“I’ve learned a lot this week. I’m learning about the team, myself, the staff and the club. What I do know is that there is a resilience and determination to put things right, from myself and the team.”
The Blues are having a big problem with injuries in their defence, which have forced them to make big changes to the backline. Reece James is still out because of a hamstring problem, Trevoh Chalobah will be out for about six weeks, and Levi Colwill is still recovering from an ACL injury. Filip Jorgensen has also had a small surgery and will be out for a few weeks. This means that Robert Sánchez is now the clear first choice in goal.
Rosenior has made a big change in strategy by bringing Lavia back to the starting midfield next to Caicedo. Pedro Neto is back in the line-up after missing the loss to Newcastle because of a suspension. João Pedro leads the line even though he hasn’t scored in three games after a streak of scoring. Cole Palmer has only scored nine goals in the Premier League this season, and more than half of them have come from the penalty spot.
Rosenior Won’t Give In To The Growing Pressure Before The Everton Game
People have also criticised the Chelsea head coach for giving Alejandro Garnacho a note late in the PSG loss, but he faced the criticism head-on:
“I’m not going to change who I am just because the scrutiny or the pressure is greater. I’m quite proud of who I am as a person.”
Rosenior took over for Enzo Maresca in January, but he’s already under a lot of pressure because he’s only won one of his last five Premier League matches. Reports say that Rosenior gets along well with Chelsea’s board, and the players’ agents say that the team still support him. The Blues need a win at Hill Dickinson Stadium to keep their hopes of finishing in the top four alive going into the international break. They have eight league games left.