Romeo Lavia on the left for Chelsea and Jordan Henderson on the right for Chelsea
Romeo Lavia on the left for Chelsea and Jordan Henderson on the right for Chelsea
Getting another central option over the line was needed in the recent transfer window.
However, issues at AS Monaco meant the Blues were unable to get their target in Lamine Camara.
Alonso has since had to work with few options in that department of the pitch, but has been pleasantly met by difficult selection choices nonetheless.
Performances from Moises Caicedo, Lavia and Henderson have thus handed him something to ponder over.
With the Spaniard now having a toss-up choice between the two latter names, one is likely to be ruthlessly axed.
Romeo Lavia has two key advantages over Jordan Henderson ahead of the Sunderland clash
Lavia has had to wait quite a while for his Chelsea career to get going, with recurring injury issues stalling his progress.
However, this campaign has been so far so good for the Belgian, and he has looked every bit the player the London side had bought back in 2023.
But England international Henderson has also rolled back the years, proving to be a shrewd pick-up for Chelsea by forcing his way into Alonso's side.
Now, ahead of facing Sunderland, it should be the Belgian who gets the nod.
A midfield duo of Lavia and Caicedo offers plenty of legs for Chelsea to keep the ball and win it back quickly.
As per Sofascore, this season Lavia has been far better in his ground duels, winning 77.4 per cent of them. He's a physical monster who is very comfortable in tight spaces.
Meanwhile, Henderson comes in with just 50 per cent.
Elsewhere in the data, on a per-game basis, Lavia only loses the ball 4.3 times, with Henderson at 14.
Chelsea will need control and sustained pressure to beat Sunderland, and that is what Lavia offers.
Will Henderson even be ready for Chelsea?
Henderson had missed Chelsea's win against Manchester United over the weekend, but manager Alonso had put that down to illness rather than injury.
The likelihood is that Henderson will once again be in the Spaniard's purview ahead of this weekend's fixtures.
And as stated, that offers him a headache that he will likely welcome, although one that is not to envy.
It will certainly be interesting to see which way he goes in the middle of the pitch.