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Blues’ Conte in a fix
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DEPRIVED of probably his two best players this season, Chelsea manager Antonio Conte finally has some selection issues to consider as the English Premier League leader aims to extend its winning run to 12 games.
Top scorer Diego Costa and midfield enforcer N’Golo Kante are both suspended for the home match against Bournemouth on Monday.
During Chelsea’s winning streak that started on October 1 and has put the team six points clear in the standings, Conte has made a total of just six game-on-game changes in personnel and used only 13 players as starters. His goalkeeper, three-man defense and wing backs have remained unchanged throughout, for example.
Selecting a lineup has been pretty straightforward for Conte, until now. “For this reason, it’s a good test for us,” the Italian said yesterday. “It’s important for this test to evaluate the group situation, also to have the possibility to play some players who until now are not playing a lot or to find another solution.
“It’s important what my eye is seeing this week.”
Chelsea needs three more wins to break the Premier League record (13) for consecutive victories in a single season, held by the Arsenal team of 2001-02. For a coach in his first season in English soccer, it’s some achievement by Conte.
The hectic festive schedule is proving a headache for many Premier League teams, as they face three games in eight days, including two matches inside 48 hours in some cases.
Chelsea, however, has its three games over 10 days, and has a four-day break between its first and second games (Bournemouth on December 26 and Stoke City at home on December 31) and another three days without a game until Tottenham Hotspur away on January 4.
If Conte stays loyal to the 3-4-3 formation that has brought Chelsea its 11 wins in a row, his central-midfield two will likely be Cesc Fabregas and Nemanja Matic while Michy Batshuayi is expected to replace Costa.
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