'Another Chance Of Silverware' – The Verdict On Chelsea
- Leicester City take on Chelsea in the Emirates FA Cup Quarter-Finals on Sunday (12:45pm)
- The Athletic’s Simon Johnson assessed the Blues’ season so far under Mauricio Pochettino
- The London club reached the final of the League Cup but have struggled for league form
- A 3-2 Premier League win over Newcastle United was a welcome boost ahead of this tie
The Blues host Leicester City in the competition’s last-eight stage and, ahead of Sunday’s quarter-final tie at Stamford Bridge, the journalist offered his thoughts on a mixed season for Mauricio Pochettino’s side, with success potentially hinging on their cup exploits.
They did, however, move within touching distance of the European places thanks to victory over Newcastle United earlier this week, with goals from Nicolas Jackson, Mykhailo Mudryk and the dangerous Cole Palmer – who also registered an assist – enough to secure a first league triumph in three. Johnson also discussed the potential team news selections, with some promising performances at both ends on the pitch on Monday.
“It’s a little bit more upbeat after winning on Monday night against Newcastle," he revealed. "They had setbacks – Newcastle equalised and Chelsea had some unconvincing periods in the game, but the crowd stood by them.
“[Trevoh] Chalobah and [Axel] Disasi were the centre-back pairing on Monday. Disasi has played more games than anyone else and Chalobah has looked good since coming back from injury a few weeks ago. He’s showing why he’s such a highly rated academy graduate.
“Thiago Silva is on the bench at the moment but whether he gets recalled at the weekend, we’ll see. He picked up an injury and that gave Pochettino a chance to play a younger defence. He is 39 and this is his last season at the club but I wouldn’t be surprised if he opts for a bit of experience and gives him a run out.
“I don’t think we’ll see mass changes, though. [Mykhailo] Mudryk could be rewarded for his fine goal with a start as [Raheem] Sterling is having a difficult time, apart from his goal at Man City.
“There’s no reason not to play his strongest team. There’s a reasonable gap between the league game and the last thing they’ll want to do is play a weakened side and get knocked out by Leicester.”
Overcoming Sky Bet Championship high-flyers Leeds United on home soil in round five, it took a 90th-minute goal from Conor Gallagher to claim a 3-2 success, a game which Johnson felt showed the best and worst of Chelsea this term.
“Leicester have got a good opportunity here as Leeds did in the previous round,” the reporter added. “I’m sure Leicester will be encouraged by the performance which Leeds - who made five changes to their starting XI - put in that night.
“Chelsea are in a last chance saloon for silverware to salvage some pride for the season and this competition is very important to Pochettino. It’s such a big game but it’s still going to be a very difficult competition to win with some of the names left in the hat.
“They still have a chance of qualifying for Europe in the league, but they are a very unpredictable team and can be brilliant one minute, but you don’t know what to expect.”
All times GMT.