Three fringe Chelsea players who must start vs Everton – One has 92% pass completion
Chelsea have to get back to winning ways against Everton this weekend after a poor recent run of four games without a victory.
Chelsea have not gone five games without a win since May 2023, and their supporters will be in no mood to see that replicated this Saturday (13 December) against an in-form Everton team.
Enzo Maresca has faced doubts around his position in charge this season, and they are likely to rear their head once more if they are consigned to another defeat at Stamford Bridge.
Atalanta beat Chelsea 2-1 in the Champions League on Tuesday (9 December) to now leave them in danger of failing to directly advance to the round of 16.
Maresca has heavily rotated his starting eleven this season due to the amount of players at his disposal, and Football Insider have picked out three of his fringe stars who deserve a start against the Toffees to prove their worth in a tough moment.
Josh Acheampong
Acheampong could have left Chelsea on loan in the summer but was retained by Maresca as a rotation option in a number of positions due to his impressive versatility.
After struggling for regular game-time, Acheampong shone against Atalanta at right-back as fans compared him to John Terry and he was one of their few bright sparks in Bergamo.
With Reece James also impressing in central midfield in recent weeks, the 19-year-old, who has 92% pass completion in the Premier League this season, deserves to keep his place at right-back on merit ahead of the inconsistent Malo Gusto.
Jorrel Hato
Chelsea’s recent struggles have highlighted centre-back as a key area of concern for Maresca, with regular starters Tosin Adarabioyo and Nathaniel Chalobah each looking shaky in the last few games.
Benoit Badiashile has also failed to impress since returning to the fold, while Wesley Fofana has suffered another injury, so the Blues boss has some key decisions to make about who he starts at the heart of his backline on Saturday.
He should try something new, which means giving Hato a genuine chance in his favoured position, as he has mostly featured at left-back this season and has rarely put a foot wrong since joining from Ajax.
Facundo Buonanotte
The strange case of Buonanotte has seen him make just one appearance in the Premier League so far this term, while he has played three times in the Champions League and is regularly named in European squads.
It is unclear why Maresca has not put his faith in the 20-year-old in domestic games, but that should change this weekend as he is handed a lifeline ahead of Chelsea’s wealth of expensive attacking talent who are all currently underperforming.
He has shown glimpses of his talent in the Premier League at both Brighton and Leicester City in the last few seasons, and with Cole Palmer still not match fit, it seems like it is Buonanotte’s time to shine this Saturday at Stamford Bridge.