Of all the traditional ‘big six’ sides in the Premier League this year, Chelsea have perhaps had the most confusing season.
The Blues started the season in a vein of form no better than last year before going on to thrash Tottenham Hotspur away – while they were top of the league – and holding treble-winning Manchester City to a 4-4 draw at Stamford Bridge.
It looked like Mauricio Pochettino’s men had turned a corner, only for them to fall to an embarrassing 4-1 defeat away to Newcastle United, which was then followed by a win over Brighton & Hove Albion.
In short, the Blues have been consistently inconsistent this year. Still, they could find the game against Manchester United later today even more challenging without their stand-in captain, Conor Gallagher.
The 23-year-old was shown two yellow cards against the Seagulls and will, therefore, be absent for the trip to Old Trafford; while this is undoubtedly a problem for the Pensioners, they have one surprise option: play Noni Madueke.
Noni Madueke’s stats this season
Gallagher’s sending off on the weekend firmly put the breaks on what has been a relatively impressive season for the Epsom-born midfielder so far this year.
He has gone from a bit part player who looked destined to leave the club over the summer to one that has been given the captain’s armband in Reece James’ absence – another red card mind – and has generally looked like one of the best players whenever he steps out onto the pitch, registering four assists already this season.
Unfortunately, though, his mindlessness on Sunday has left his manager in the lurch as, despite spending an exorbitant amount of money on new players in the summer, there isn’t really a natural replacement for Gallagher in the squad, or is there?
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