The Deeper Meaning Behind Frank Lampard's Squad Selection For Chelsea's First Game Back
For the first time since he took over the reigns at Stamford Bridge, manager Frank Lampard has a fully-fit squad to choose from for his next game.
In a season where nearly every Chelsea player has been affected by injuries, the break due to COVID-19 has allowed several players to rehabilitate and recover. Now, Lampard has the type of squad dilemma that is every manager's dream.
Before the Premier League's suspension, eight first-team Chelsea players were suffering from injuries: Tammy Abraham, Christian Pulisic, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Mateo Kovacic, N'Golo Kante, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Mason Mount, and Willian. One of the league's top scorers, two crucial young wingers, the No. 10, two proven world class midfielders, and two who may well get there. As of now, they are all back.
When Lampard took over, Loftus-Cheek, Hudson-Odoi, Reece James, Kante, and Antonio Rudiger were all nursing long-term injuries, which made him unable to construct his dream Chelsea lineup, rather having to adjust to circumstances beyond his control. Since then, the only established starter who has not missed a game due to injury is, unsurprisingly, captain Cesar Azpilicueta.
Many times this season, the Blues boss has been forced into a selection simply because it was the only option. But when the season soon resumes against Aston Villa, Lampard will be able to selected his preferred team (except maybe Jorginho, who is suspended for a game).
What does this mean? It means that the team he selects will be the team he envisions for Chelsea moving forward.
For example, in defence, he has experimented with several different centre-back pairings throughout the season. Rudiger, Fikayo Tomori, Kurt Zouma, and Andreas Christensen have all played over 1400 minutes in the league, despite Rudiger's injury problems. Lampard has clearly not settled on a pairing so far, but this game against Villa will likely show who Lampard wants at the back.
The pairing of Zouma and Tomori coincided with Chelsea's best form of the season, but Rudiger is the most talented of the four, and Christensen has been steadily improving. Lampard will take all of that into account, and whichever two he decides on will probably be starting in the most important games if they are fit.
James will almost certainly continue his brilliant run at right-back, moving the ever-reliable Azpilicueta to the left-back position.
Barring an unforeseen circumstance in training, goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga will also be starting, as he kept back-to-back clean sheets against Liverpool and Everton and is light-years ahead of his replacement Willy Caballero.
The midfield selected will be the most interesting aspect of the lineup. With Jorginho out for the first game, Lampard has Kante, Kovacic, Mount, Loftus-Cheek, and young Billy Gilmour to choose from.
Kante has not yet rejoined group training amid coronavirus fears, and there is a chance, albeit a very slight chance, he may not return for the season. Since he has already resumed individual training at Cobham, the Blues will probably be able to count on him in three weeks' time, while nothing is certain at the moment.
Loftus-Cheek has never played under Lampard, and has not played professional football in 14 months, but he is now fully fit and raring to go. On face value, not starting him could be the safer and more pragmatic choice. However, he will be the most well-rested of the group, and the chance of injury is probably the same for him as for the rest of the team, given that no one is match-fit right now and Loftus-Cheek is fully recovered. If Lampard does start Loftus-Cheek, he will be sending a strong message about the 24-year-old's importance.
A man who will surely start is Kovacic. The player of the year for Chelsea thus far, he is in every fan's ideal lineup, as well as Lampard's. Definitely expect to see him skipping past a couple of Aston Villa midfielders.
One of the most compelling midfield options is Gilmour. He has started two games for the Blues this season, the two last games before the break. Both games resulted in Man of the Match performances. While his form may not carry over after this extended football hiatus, I don't think any Chelsea fan would mind seeing him get the start against Villa. If he does start even when everyone else is fit, he may well have a key role to play for the rest of the season.
The last remaining option is Mason Mount, who is coming off a brilliant goal against Everton and an upturn in form in the weeks prior to the league's suspension. If Kante is unavailable for personal reasons, he may get the start as well. One of Chelsea's breakout youngsters this season, he will be looking to nail down a starting spot for the rest of the year.
Of the wingers who start against Villa, one will very likely be Willian. However, whoever starts on the opposite side will be very impactful. The two obvious candidates are Pulisic and Hudson-Odoi, and whoever is selected will likely show Lampard's preference.
Both are young, exciting, pacey, skillful wingers. Both have also been criticized for a lack of end product in their career. Both have similar stats in terms of goals and assists this season. But most importantly, both have just returned from a medium-term injury layoff; Pulisic has missed about three months, Hudson-Odoi about two.
The two wingers have been in direct competition for a starting spot for the whole season, and since they enter the game in almost identical circumstances, whoever starts is Lampard's second-choice winger. In the event that the club bring in a player like Jadon Sancho this summer, the starter next match will likely be his partner on the opposite wing.
At the striker position, Olivier Giroud would argue he deserves the role because of his stellar performances as of late, but Abraham is back from injury and he has been the starting striker all season, so expect to see the Englishman return to the starting lineup.
Predicted Chelsea Starting XI (4-3-3): Kepa, James, Rudiger, Tomori, Azpilicueta, Gilmour, Kovacic, Mount, Willian, Abraham, Pulisic
There are a few external factors which could contribute to who Lampard picks against Aston Villa, but he has never had this much time during a season to plan for a game, and he has his whole squad fit and fresh.
Lampard has not spent all (granted, probably some) of his quarantine watching Netflix. He has no doubt worked on tactical analysis of his squad, and he will have put great thought into his team sheet when the Blues return against Aston Villa in a few weeks' time.
Who he selects, however, remains to be seen.
In a season where nearly every Chelsea player has been affected by injuries, the break due to COVID-19 has allowed several players to rehabilitate and recover. Now, Lampard has the type of squad dilemma that is every manager's dream.
Before the Premier League's suspension, eight first-team Chelsea players were suffering from injuries: Tammy Abraham, Christian Pulisic, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Mateo Kovacic, N'Golo Kante, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Mason Mount, and Willian. One of the league's top scorers, two crucial young wingers, the No. 10, two proven world class midfielders, and two who may well get there. As of now, they are all back.
When Lampard took over, Loftus-Cheek, Hudson-Odoi, Reece James, Kante, and Antonio Rudiger were all nursing long-term injuries, which made him unable to construct his dream Chelsea lineup, rather having to adjust to circumstances beyond his control. Since then, the only established starter who has not missed a game due to injury is, unsurprisingly, captain Cesar Azpilicueta.
Many times this season, the Blues boss has been forced into a selection simply because it was the only option. But when the season soon resumes against Aston Villa, Lampard will be able to selected his preferred team (except maybe Jorginho, who is suspended for a game).
What does this mean? It means that the team he selects will be the team he envisions for Chelsea moving forward.
For example, in defence, he has experimented with several different centre-back pairings throughout the season. Rudiger, Fikayo Tomori, Kurt Zouma, and Andreas Christensen have all played over 1400 minutes in the league, despite Rudiger's injury problems. Lampard has clearly not settled on a pairing so far, but this game against Villa will likely show who Lampard wants at the back.
The pairing of Zouma and Tomori coincided with Chelsea's best form of the season, but Rudiger is the most talented of the four, and Christensen has been steadily improving. Lampard will take all of that into account, and whichever two he decides on will probably be starting in the most important games if they are fit.
James will almost certainly continue his brilliant run at right-back, moving the ever-reliable Azpilicueta to the left-back position.
Barring an unforeseen circumstance in training, goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga will also be starting, as he kept back-to-back clean sheets against Liverpool and Everton and is light-years ahead of his replacement Willy Caballero.
The midfield selected will be the most interesting aspect of the lineup. With Jorginho out for the first game, Lampard has Kante, Kovacic, Mount, Loftus-Cheek, and young Billy Gilmour to choose from.
Kante has not yet rejoined group training amid coronavirus fears, and there is a chance, albeit a very slight chance, he may not return for the season. Since he has already resumed individual training at Cobham, the Blues will probably be able to count on him in three weeks' time, while nothing is certain at the moment.
Loftus-Cheek has never played under Lampard, and has not played professional football in 14 months, but he is now fully fit and raring to go. On face value, not starting him could be the safer and more pragmatic choice. However, he will be the most well-rested of the group, and the chance of injury is probably the same for him as for the rest of the team, given that no one is match-fit right now and Loftus-Cheek is fully recovered. If Lampard does start Loftus-Cheek, he will be sending a strong message about the 24-year-old's importance.
A man who will surely start is Kovacic. The player of the year for Chelsea thus far, he is in every fan's ideal lineup, as well as Lampard's. Definitely expect to see him skipping past a couple of Aston Villa midfielders.
One of the most compelling midfield options is Gilmour. He has started two games for the Blues this season, the two last games before the break. Both games resulted in Man of the Match performances. While his form may not carry over after this extended football hiatus, I don't think any Chelsea fan would mind seeing him get the start against Villa. If he does start even when everyone else is fit, he may well have a key role to play for the rest of the season.
The last remaining option is Mason Mount, who is coming off a brilliant goal against Everton and an upturn in form in the weeks prior to the league's suspension. If Kante is unavailable for personal reasons, he may get the start as well. One of Chelsea's breakout youngsters this season, he will be looking to nail down a starting spot for the rest of the year.
Of the wingers who start against Villa, one will very likely be Willian. However, whoever starts on the opposite side will be very impactful. The two obvious candidates are Pulisic and Hudson-Odoi, and whoever is selected will likely show Lampard's preference.
Both are young, exciting, pacey, skillful wingers. Both have also been criticized for a lack of end product in their career. Both have similar stats in terms of goals and assists this season. But most importantly, both have just returned from a medium-term injury layoff; Pulisic has missed about three months, Hudson-Odoi about two.
The two wingers have been in direct competition for a starting spot for the whole season, and since they enter the game in almost identical circumstances, whoever starts is Lampard's second-choice winger. In the event that the club bring in a player like Jadon Sancho this summer, the starter next match will likely be his partner on the opposite wing.
At the striker position, Olivier Giroud would argue he deserves the role because of his stellar performances as of late, but Abraham is back from injury and he has been the starting striker all season, so expect to see the Englishman return to the starting lineup.
Predicted Chelsea Starting XI (4-3-3): Kepa, James, Rudiger, Tomori, Azpilicueta, Gilmour, Kovacic, Mount, Willian, Abraham, Pulisic
There are a few external factors which could contribute to who Lampard picks against Aston Villa, but he has never had this much time during a season to plan for a game, and he has his whole squad fit and fresh.
Lampard has not spent all (granted, probably some) of his quarantine watching Netflix. He has no doubt worked on tactical analysis of his squad, and he will have put great thought into his team sheet when the Blues return against Aston Villa in a few weeks' time.
Who he selects, however, remains to be seen.
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