Venue: Stamford Bridge
Kick off: 4PM
Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri will be after an immediate response this afternoon when his side take on Premier League basement boys Huddersfield Town at Stamford Bridge.
The Blues suffered a shock 4-0 loss at Bournemouth in midweek to slip out of the top four and see the pressure grow on manager Sarri, who has been in charge for less than seven months.
The four-goal hammering at the Vitality Stadium was Chelsea’s heaviest loss in the top flight since 1996 and was the first time supporters appeared to actively turn on the man in the dugout.
Visiting fans were frustrated at the Italian’s decision to take off new signing Gonzalo Higuain and replace him with Olivier Giroud, though the man brought in to solve the Blues’ goalscoring problems made barely any impact during his hour on the pitch.
Chelsea dominated the first half on the south coast but their 405 passes led to just five shots at goal – a familiar theme as supporters grow more and more frustrated with the famed ‘Sarri-ball’ style of play.
Sarri’s side also suffered a 2-0 loss to Arsenal in their most recent Premier League match prior to Wednesday and are now aiming to avoid losing three consecutive Premier League defeats for the first time since November 2015.
The defeat at the Emirates Stadium left the race for the top four wide open and the midweek results provided another twist in the battle for Champions League football. By virtue of the four-goal hammering at Bournemouth, Chelsea are now behind Arsenal – 2-1 winners against Cardiff City 24 hours beforehand – on goal difference.
Manchester United are also just two points worse off in sixth, so Sarri’s side cannot afford this blip to go on any longer if they are to avoid missing out on Champions League football in successive campaigns under owner Roman Abramovich for the first time.my
Scoring goals, despite the addition of Higuain, remains a big problem for the West London outfit, failing to score in their last two Premier League matches and in three of their last six home games – more than they had in their previous 21 combined in the competition.
On the other hand, a new manager did not bring a change of fortunes for Huddersfield as they fell to a 1-0 loss at home to Everton in Jan Siewert’s first game in charge.
Siewert has taken on what many have labelled an impossible job of sorts at the John Smith’s Stadium, tasked with keeping the Terriers in the top flight despite already being cut well adrift of safety.
The gap on 17th place has only grown wider in Siewert’s first full week at the helm, with five of the six teams directly above Huddersfield picking up at least a point in midweek – Cardiff in 18th being the exception.
Town have now lost 11 of their last 12 matches in all competitions, including an early FA Cup exit at Championship side Bristol City earlier this month, since picking up a 2-0 win at Wolverhampton Wanderers on November 25.
Their only point came in a must-win match against fellow strugglers Cardiff, leading to David Wagner’s exit by mutual consent. Wagner’s successor Siewert now has 14 games remaining to make up 12 points on the sides above the dotted line, starting with games against Chelsea and Arsenal.
Huddersfield have won none of their 19 Premier League games against sides who are not newly-promoted to the division this season, having only beaten Fulham and Wolves so far.
Chelsea possible XI: Kepa, Azpilicueta, Rudiger, Christensen, Alonso, Kante, Jorginho, Barkley, Willian, Higuain, Hazard.
Huddersfield Town possible XI: Lossl, Smith, Zanka, Schindler, Kongolo, Puncheon, Hogg, Mooy, Kachunga, Mounie, Diakhaby.