It is in the heat of Abu Dhabi that a makeshift Chelsea squad has continued to prepare for the restart of the 2022/23 campaign. There are several first-team stars included in the 25-man group that flew out to the Middle East last Sunday. Even those recovering from long-term injuries were brought along.
The week-long warm-weather training camp has been an opportunity for Chelsea head coach Graham Potter to work with a collection of his senior players, such as Trevoh Chalobah, Marc Cucurella, Jorginho, Armando Broja and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, and also run the rule over a host of players from the Development Squad.
It's a trip that has also coincided with the return to first-team training for Reece James, who has not featured since coming off with a knee injury in the win over AC Milan at San Siro. Wesley Fofana (knee) and Ben Chilwell (hamstring) are a little further back in their recoveries. And so is Ruben Loftus-Cheek (calf), as exclusively revealed by football.london.
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N'Golo Kante is also out with the squad in the UAE, although the influential Frenchman is some way off a return. He underwent hamstring surgery last month and isn't expected to be fully fit until – at the earliest – late February. His absence has been of huge disappointment, especially given Kante has played less than 180 minutes of football this season.
Today, Chelsea will face Aston Villa in a mid-season friendly to prepare the squad for the clash with Bournemouth later this month. The friendly will be played at the Al Nahyan Stadium on Sunday and kick off at 6.10pm local time (2.10pm GMT).
It is a game Potter will want to win given the mood around Chelsea remains dark following a number of poor results prior to the World Cup break. And here we pick two different starting line-ups the Blues head coach could settle upon come Sunday evening.
Line-up 1: Kepa; James, Chalobah, Cucurella; Rankine, Chukwuemeka, Jorginho, Hall; Hutchinson, Broja, Aubameyang.
Potter has overseen 14 matches since replacing Thomas Tuchel as Chelsea head coach and has predominantly used – much in the same vein as the German coach – a back-three system. Naturally, there have been differences within the structure and personnel but there was little point in Potter ripping up everything that had come before just weeks into the new season.
That Potter does not have his full first-team squad together in the Middle East makes it unlikely he will start afresh tactically against Villa. And going with a 3-4-2-1 shape against Villa on Sunday would offer an opportunity to reintroduce James.
The academy graduate returned to training yesterday (Monday) after several weeks on the sideline with a knee injury. If he is able to come through the planned sessions this week, there may be some involvement for James against Villa.
Would it be wise to throw him straight back into the demanding wing-back role? Probably not given his length of absence. Yet James has performed excellently on the right of the back three in seasons past and it may be the best position to begin his reintegration into the starting XI.
That would inevitably shift Trevoh Chalobah into the middle of defence and the backline could be completed by another first-team member: Marc Cucurella. In the wide roles, Dion Rankie would be the natural option on the right after several impressive performances for the Development Squad while Lewis Hall has proved he can handle himself at left wing-back in the senior side.
Jorginho's experience and quality are best utilised in a midfield two and with Ruben Loftus-Cheek currently sidelined alongside N'Golo Kante – and Mateo Kovacic, Conor Gallagher and Mason Mount at the World Cup – there would be an opportunity for Carney Chukwuemeka to be deployed alongside the Italian.
Armando Broja and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang are clear candidates to take up positions in the attack, which would be best completed by Omari Hutchinson. The 19-year-old has twice been an unused substitute for the first team and has dazzled for the Development Squad following his summer move from Arsenal.
Line-up 2: Bettinelli; Rankine, Chalobah, Humphreys, Cucurella; Jorginho, Casadei, Hall; Hutchinson, Broja, Aubameyang.
This is far more of a no-risks starting XI, with none of the players on the comeback from injury included. The shape is different too with Chelsea lined up in a 4-3-3 structure to get another body into the midfield.
In goal in place of Kepa Arrizabalaga – who has been contending with plantar fasciitis since the defeat at Brighton – is third-choice stopper Marcus Bettinelli. He is protected by a back four of Rankine, Chalobah, former Under-18s captain Bashir Humphreys, and Cucurella.
Jorginho can then be deployed as a single six in midfield, admittedly a position that does leave him somewhat exposed on the counter, with Hall brought into his more favoured role as a number eight alongside Cesare Casadei, who arrived at Chelsea from Inter Milan in the summer.
The young Italian has produced a string of standout displays for the Development Squad over the past two months and can use the trip to Abu Dhabi – and the match against Villa – as an excellent opportunity to catch the eye of Potter and his coaching team ahead of the second half of the campaign.
The front three remains the same as in the previous line-up, with Hutchinson coming inside off the right, Broja occupying the number nine role, and Aubameyang playing out on the left.
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