Maresca must ruthlessly drop Pedro Neto to unleash "fantastic" Chelsea star
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Just three days after Chelsea beat Tottenham at Stamford Bridge 1-0, Enzo Maresca’s side are set to take on Brentford at the Gtech Stadium, looking for another important three points.
Every game is like a cup final now for the Blues, who are chasing UEFA Champions League qualification, currently sitting 4th in the Premier League on 52 points after 30 games played, just one point ahead of fifth-placed Manchester City and two points ahead of sixth-placed Newcastle.
With just eight games to go, Chelsea will be treating this Brentford clash as a must-win game, something that felt clear on Thursday night as Maresca decided to rest Reece James, in order to keep him ready.
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Maresca will be without two key figures, as both Wesley Fofana and Roméo Lavia have sustained injuries again, which will keep them out for the time being.
Fofana is a huge miss, with the Italian already stating how much he “loves” the French defender, who’s made 14 appearances this season, keeping four clean sheets and totaling 1,176 minutes played.
On a more positive note, Chelsea have now got all of Nicolas Jackson, Noni Madueke, and Cole Palmer back from their injury woes, all playing a part against Tottenham the other night in their 1-0 victory.
The return of this trio has given Maresca some selection headaches, as he now has options to reevaluate his side and make adjustments based on the opposition and game plan.
Why Chelsea must drop Pedro Neto
Pedro Neto has done a good job filling in for the likes of Jackson and Madueke in recent weeks, playing as both a winger and centre-forward to plug gaps for Maresca when needed.
However, against Tottenham, Neto did lose possession 11 times, only completing one of his three dribble attempts and receiving a yellow card in his 90 minutes played, as he failed to make any significant impact at the top end of the pitch.
Whilst Jadon Sancho also had a poor performance, he only played 68 minutes, still losing possession nine times and failing his only dribble attempt of the game. One of the pair should be taken out for Madueke, who was able to get 22 minutes into his legs, coming from the bench against Spurs.
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Pedro Neto vs Noni Madueke comparison |
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|---|---|---|
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Stats (per 90 mins) |
Neto |
Madueke |
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Goals |
0.22 |
0.35 |
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Assists |
0.15 |
0.30 |
|
xG |
0.12 |
0.46 |
|
xAG |
0.25 |
0.22 |
|
Progressive Carries |
5.17 |
6.77 |
|
Progressive Passes |
2.33 |
3.35 |
|
Shots Total |
2.08 |
3.90 |
|
Key Passes |
1.83 |
1.46 |
|
Shot-Creating Actions |
3.44 |
3.72 |
|
Successful Take-Ons |
1.39 |
1.71 |
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Stats taken from FBref |
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When comparing Madueke and Neto’s underlying metrics this season, you can see the directness you gain from starting the Englishman, who provides a higher volume of shots, carries, and take-ons, whilst also finding himself in goal-scoring positions more frequently.
Maresca himself has already labeled Madueke as “fantastic” this season, referring to his hat-trick against Wolves in the opening weeks of the campaign. This season, the 23-year-old winger has made 29 appearances for the Blues, scoring eight goals, providing four assists, and totaling 1,675 minutes played, easily being Chelsea’s most productive winger in terms of attacking output.
Therefore, playing against a low-block team in Brentford, who will look to cut off space in behind as much as possible, it could be the perfect time to axe Neto, bring Madueke into the lineup on the right, and keep Sancho on the left, who perhaps suits the tighter spaces Chelsea will face against the Bees.
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