Chelsea need something extraordinary to beat Brighton & Hove Albion in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday after a disastrous start to the Premier League season.
Mauricio Pochettino’s team has won only two of their seven games this season, with one of those triumphs coming against AFC Wimbledon from League Two in the second round of this tournament.
Clearly, this isn’t good enough, but Wednesday’s game provides an excellent opportunity to turn things around.
What has gone wrong with Chelsea?
To put it simply, everything has gone wrong.
Chelsea is dominating control of the ball but (still) failing to score goals, which has a negative impact on any team’s confidence even before you consider how difficult it has been for them to keep clean sheets.
A serious injury issue has restricted Pochettino’s options for responding, but doubts about his efforts to find answers have split supporters on when, or if, things will ever improve.
Why Chelsea should take advantage of the Brighton game
Pochettino will rotate his team since this is not a Premier League game but rather a third-round encounter in a cup tournament. He’ll offer minutes to eager periphery players and, as a result of the players that are expected to come in, he’ll be compelled to abandon his current defense-first plan.
With few defenders available in the coming weeks, Pochettino may be forced to play a natural left-back like Ben Chilwell or Ian Maatsen here, shifting Chelsea’s priority to attack.
Enzo Fernandez will most likely be rested, making room for someone like Cole Palmer or Noni Madueke. While none can equal the Argentine’s passing skills, they are both more suited to the aggressive position that Fernandez has lately occupied. The fundamental difference is that it feels more natural.
Even farther forward in attack, Armando Broja or Deivid Washington might get time in lieu of Nicolas Jackson, who will be banned for the next Premier League game. Chelsea’s assault will have a fresh dynamic, which is precisely what Pochettino wants.
While the load is never really off a Chelsea manager’s shoulders, there’s no disputing that a weaker side being knocked out of the Carabao Cup early is neither a huge surprise nor a significant scandal. These things happen at teams all throughout the nation, so Pochettino has a free pass to attempt something new.
Which players will play for Chelsea against Brighton?
