Chelsea have entered their final four matches before the World Cup break and for his first time in charge of the Blues, Graham Potter might feel like he has time to pause. Dinamo Zagreb, Arsenal, Manchester City and Newcastle United. Two cup games intermingled with Premier League matches against rivals challenging for the top four as teams fight to end the first period of the season with some momentum.
Fortunately for Chelsea, Dinamo's trip to Stamford Bridge offers the Blues a free-hit of sorts. Potter's team have already qualified top of Group E and have nothing to play for but redemption after the Croatian side defeated them earlier in the season.
Chelsea will be able to introduce some players who have not featured much this season, perhaps give some youngsters an opportunity and generally rotate where the current injury situation allows. Although, Potter appeared to indicate earning three points in the clash is still a priority.
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Potter said following the Blues win over Salzburg: “We’re at home at Stamford Bridge and we’ll try our very best. We want to win every game we play, that is the mentality we have to have. But clearly, we have a game at the weekend and another game the weekend after, so maybe we can rotate a little bit. But we will try our best.”
Manchester City find themselves in a similar situation to the Blues having qualified for the Champions League last-16, but with the added bonus of Chelsea taking on Arsenal and Tottenham taking on Liverpool, providing them with a big opportunity to take advantage of. Pep Guardiola was clear in his plans for both the Champions League and Carabao Cup - players will be rested. He hopes to take advantage of rivals dropping points.
"This last week was really good," said Guardiola. "It was so important because now against Sevilla we can recover. The players that don't play much are going to play and the players that played against Leicester are going to play.
"After, we have the Carabao Cup. It's important but it is the Carabao Cup. We have two [league] games at home in Fulham and Brentford.
"I know the calendar - Chelsea play Arsenal, Tottenham play Liverpool - so that's why we can make a good... not gap because it is not definitive, but we can arrive after the World Cup being there on top of the league. We rest well because it was demanding but we have four games at home so we don't have to travel, which is good for us as well because that tiredness always increases fatigue a lot."
Guardiola's approach to the Carabao Cup appears fairly straightforward, and Potter will have to decide how he approaches that match too. Will he look to put out a second string side, or look to take advantage of his adversary's decision?
That game comes in between Arsenal and Newcastle United, so there will be little time to recuperate in between three important matches. Top four will be a big focus for Potter in his first season as Chelsea boss and he will hope to bounce back from defeat to Brighton but lifting trophies is the currency the Blues know better than most.
However, Potter does not believe that success is all about rotation. He has not been able to establish a favoured team in a busy October, and and the first two weeks of November will present the same challenge.
"It's not about change," said Potter following the loss to Brighton. "You need to find a way to win and perform. We've had a lot of games in October and an incredible schedule. So for different reasons, we've lost key players in terms of Reece [James], [Kalidou] Koulibaly, [Wesley] Fofana and [N'Golo] Kante. So there is a constant challenge in how to set up. We tried today, and again, it can be tactical, or it can be the intensity, and the opponent do what they do better."
There will be a lot of answers for Potter to find with three extreme tests in the next four matches.
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