Opinion: Rare Liverpool Start Could Prove Critical For Out-Of-Favour Chelsea Star's Career Under Xabi Alonso
Estevao could earn his first start for Chelsea against Liverpool, and he is under a lot of pressure to make it count.
Can Estevao Willian step up in Cole Palmer's absence against Liverpool?
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Wednesday’s Carabao Cup fourth-round tie against Liverpool could be a defining match for Estevao Willian’s career at Chelsea.
It is no secret that Estevao has struggled to get an opportunity to be on the pitch, let alone establish himself as a regular starter for Chelsea, as many expected this time a year ago.
The 19-year-old has played 172 minutes under Xabi Alonso so far, only 47 of which were in the Premier League. Since the international break, he has been on the pitch for a total of 24 minutes plus stoppage time.
However, Alonso has faced little criticism for not using such a highly rated talent. This is largely because it's easy to see why. Cole Palmer, Morgan Rogers, and Joao Pedro have secured their spots as the primary front three, and their performances justify their places.
Due to Alonso’s preferred 3-4-2-1 formation, Estevao has been in direct competition with Palmer for the right-side number 10 spot. To make it worse, even when Alonso opted for a flat 4-4-2 system against Tottenham, the more versatile Pedro Neto got the nod over Estevao on the right flank.
How could Estevao break into Chelsea's starting XI?
Alonso has proved that he is flexible with his systems and is willing to adapt to his team and opponents in order to win.
“The system is a picture,” Alonso told Jamie Carragher in a Sky Sports interview last week when asked how he sees formations.
“But teams completely change what they do with the ball, without the ball.”
In the interview, Alonso pointed out how he decided to use a back-three system at Bayer Leverkusen in Germany because he did not have “super wingers”, but he had three good centre-backs.
“If you don’t have wingers, it’s difficult to develop them. And we needed to adapt,” the Spaniard added.
“It’s not ‘This is my system, and I only play this system.’ No, here (at Chelsea) it’s different.”
Obviously, having Levi Colwill, Maxence Lacroix, Josh Acheampong, and Jorrel Hato likely helped convince Alonso to deploy a three-at-the-back formation at Chelsea. But this also means Estevao could sway him in the other direction.
While it is unrealistic for Estevao to leapfrog Palmer in the pecking order as a number 10, he can still prove to be the elite winger that Alonso lacked at Leverkusen.
Estevao must simply convince Alonso that having him on the pitch is worth more to Chelsea than having an extra defender that the current formation provides. A switch to a 4-2-3-1 is arguably Estevao’s best chance at becoming a regular starter at Chelsea.
Unfortunately, the Brazil international has not done much to persuade Alonso. He has yet to contribute any goals or assists this season. One, if you include his one shot that forced Luton Town midfielder Hakeem Odoffin's own goal in Chelsea's Carabao Cup second-round win in August.
In his defence, it is hard to get into a rhythm without consistent minutes on the pitch, especially when he recently only got to make brief cameos very late in the game.
This is where the upcoming trip to Liverpool comes in.
With Palmer suspended, Estevao is likely to be in the starting line-up for the Carabao Cup tie. A strong display could earn him more opportunities to push for a formation change that would turn a Chelsea front three into a front four.
Another disappointing display, like the one he had against Leeds United, could, however, lead to a long spell as Palmer's mere backup.