Chelsea face their third clash against London opposition in a row this weekend as they play West Ham United in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon.
Having secured four points from their previous two matches, including an impressive 2-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur, Mauricio Pochettino’s side are clearly exuding some confidence for once.
The injury crisis is worsening, making the previous two results even better considering 14 players missed the Spurs tie.
This doesn’t leave him much room to manoeuvre in terms of rotation, but given how well his starting XI performed, it seems unlikely that Pochettino would have changed much anyway.
Marc Cucurella was among those who enjoyed a wonderful display in midweek, and the £63m man could be key against West Ham.
Marc Cucurella’s stats against Spurs
The left-back was tasked with keeping Brennan Johnson quiet during the match, and he certainly achieved that, with the Spurs man delivering zero accurate crosses while managing only one shot during the tie, which was off target.
The defender made four tackles, four interceptions, won all nine of his contested ground duels and wasn’t dribbled past during the match, showcasing his defensive solidity.
Touches
75
Accurate passes
29/40
Ground duels (won)
9 (9)
Possession lost
14
Key passes
0
He also succeeded with 100% of his dribbles and while he perhaps didn’t offer as much going forward, his display in keeping the Spurs attack quiet was more than enough.
Indeed, the former Brighton gem was given a match rating of 7/10 by the Standard for his performance in the 2-0 win which boosted Chelsea’s European ambitions.
While Cole Palmer is the man of the moment for his incredible displays this season, Cucurella could be even more important against West Ham on Sunday.
Why Cucurella could be key against West Ham
Palmer has enjoyed a sublime debut season at Chelsea. Not only has the former Manchester City gem scored 25 goals across all competitions, but the youngster has chipped in with a further 13 assists, certainly enjoying life in London, it seems.
Pochettino will be hoping he can add to this tally against the Irons, but Cucurella might just be more important in order to nullify the threat posed by a certain Jarrod Bowen.
The Englishman has scored 20 goals this term and could be the major threat for David Moyes’ men against the Blues, something which Cucurella will be hoping to stop.
The Spaniard has won 4.4 ground duels per game this term in the top flight – a success rate of 60% – while making 2.8 tackles per game and is clearly in a confident mood after the midweek victory.
If he can replicate that performance against the Hammers, then Bowen should be kept fairly quiet, which could allow the Blues to steal all three points as they chase down a European place.
Everything will depend on whether the entire starting XI deliver another excellent performance that they are clearly capable of. If they do, then another win should be secured in the Premier League for the west London outfit.
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