Chelsea manager Frank Lampard will have plenty to contemplate during this new winter break, with his side winning just once in the Premier League this year. You could argue that it’s come at a great time for Lampard. Whilst his side are still 4th in the Premier League, they have looked rather lethargic in recent matches and will be glad with the chance to recharge their batteries ahead of two massive games upon their return to domestic action.
Next up is Manchester United, followed by Jose Mourinho’s Tottenham. Both take place at Stamford Bridge and with the gap between Chelsea and Spurs just 4 points, many believe this could be a season-defining period for this young side. As Lampard has been keen to point out to the press recently, it’s a huge achievement that his side are in a position in the first place, given they were unable to sign any players during the summer.
Fast-forward six months and the transfer ban has been lifted. Chelsea were allowed to sign players in the January transfer window. It seemed to be timed perfectly, with the Blues starting 2020 in poor form, looking increasingly tired and picking up injuries to key players. This young side began life under Lampard with plenty of energy and turned in high-quality performances to match, but they have now struggled to maintain any kind of form since the middle of November.
The transfer window slammed shut last week and despite the obvious need for additions to the squad, Lampard failed to bring in any new players. Lampard appeared visibly annoyed in a couple of post-match interviews when asked to supply an update on any new signings, especially after an injury to Tammy Abraham. The England forward is one of the players who will benefit massively from the winter break, as he played through the previous game with the aid of pain-killing injections. He’s also seen his form dip dramatically, like Mason Mount.
Both Tammy Abraham and Mason Mount started the season superbly, but due to an over-reliance on the pair and an overload of fixtures, they have been unable to maintain their level of performances. Despite Abraham’s recent injuries, Lampard still couldn’t find a place in the travelling squad for World Cup winner Oliver Giroud and when bringing the injured Abraham off against Leicester, Lampard decided to bring on Ross Barkley in his place.
Michy Batshuayi was sitting on the bench.
All the rumours coming out of the club in January pointed towards Chelsea being in the market for another forward, with Edinson Cavani and Dries Mertens strongly linked. In the end, nobody came through the door. Could this cost Lampard a place in the Champions League come May? Personally, I think they’ll get over the line, but they must protect Tammy Abraham, especially as it appears Frank Lampard is not interested in changing his system when the 22 year-old is not playing. The constant omission of Giroud and the neglect of Batshuayi confirms this.
If they can keep Abraham fit and firing, you would expect them to be playing Champions League football next season. That is, if they can address their recent defensive issues.
Since the end of November, Chelsea has kept just 2 clean sheets across 13 Premier League games. These came against Tottenham (0-2) and Burney (3-0). In fact, Chelsea has kept just 5 clean sheets this season, just 20% of games. Burnley, Watford, West Ham, Everton and Sheffield United, to name a few, all have better records when it comes to clean sheets.
Some fans will point the finger of blame towards young keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga, who was dropped for the 2-2 draw at Leicester following a string of soft goals conceded. Certain pundits urged Lampard to consider replacing the Spaniard with Newcastle’s Martin Dubravka.
Despite keeping a clean sheet in just 15% of games, Chelsea still occupy 4th. How? They’re still managing to score goals. Only Liverpool, Manchester City and Leciester have managed to score more goals than Chelsea this season. The Blues have scored 43 across 25 matches. 1.72 goals per game. In comparison, the team with the most goals this season is Manchester City, who has averaged 2.60 goals per game.
What’s interesting about Chelsea and the way Lampard sets his team up is that the majority of goals have been scored away from Stamford Bridge. Chelsea scores 1.33 goals per game at home and 2.08 goals per game on the road, a huge increase in fortunes. Chelsea fans will remember the run they went on at the start of the season, where they won 5 away games on the bounce. This period also saw them score 18 goals across those 5 fixtures. They had to score more than once in these games to secure the win, as they also failed to keep a single clean sheet during this period and across their opening 8 away games in the Premier League.
In terms of total goals conceded, Chelsea has shipped 34 goals in their opening 25 matches. A far cry from the 15 across a full season back in 2004/2005. I doubt we will ever see anything like that again, not with the way football has changed in recent years. This season’s record is not great, but it’s also not terrible. 1.36 goals conceded per game. There’s room for improvement and that might come now that Antonio Rüdiger is back in the side. He brings authority to that backline and – in the previous game – a couple of goals. Fikayo Tomori is another one of the younger players at Chelsea that started the season really well but now finds himself out of the team. He, like Mount and Abraham could come back from this break reinvigorated.
If you’re into making football predictions, another interesting stat for Chelsea is that when playing away from home, 77% of games have ended with both teams scoring. This drives home the defensive statistics from earlier in the article. Defensively, this is not a strong season at all for Premier League teams. In fact, almost half of the teams in the league have seen 60% of their games end with both teams scoring (BTTS). Leading the charts for this statistic is Wolves, who has seen 76% of all Premier League games end with both teams scoring.
