Mauricio Pochettino must now drop ‘world-class’ Chelsea player for tonight’s game – opinion
Mauricio Pochettino will no doubt already be certain of the team he is looking to start for tonight’s West London derby against Fulham.
The final Premier League game of the weekend is imperative for the Blues to win, with them slumping towards the bottom of the table at this rate.
The Argentine’s team selection will likely be influenced by this week’s EFL Cup match against Brighton, where they finally got back to winning ways.
A rotated side was the one that did the business at Stamford Bridge, and a number of players who perhaps have not had opportunities to impress took their chance.
The defence is a position which saw plenty of change, and Marc Cucurella in particular took his chance when playing out of position on the right of a back four.
The new full-backs allowed Levi Colwill to play in the middle of defence, and this finally allowed him to perform at his best.
Pochettino must drop Silva
In order for this to happen again tonight, Pochettino will have to look to drop someone who has started every game this season, and this should be Thiago Silva.
The Brazilian has been described in the past as ‘world-class’ however has had a difficult start to the season in comparison to his usual high standards.
It feels as if the backline is currently being put together to protect the Brazil legend, although there are questions as to whether this is still required.
Axel Disasi has played alongside Silva for the entire season, and despite there being not much fanfare regarding his start to life in London, he has performed better of the two so far.
A back two of the Frenchman and Colwill is something that needs to be tested soon, and with Benoit Badiashile coming back from injury at some point soon, minutes could be becoming a premium for Silva soon.