Which is the best Chelsea midfield option?
As their strong season-ending fixtures includes two Double Gameweeks, it could be time to trust a Chelsea midfield option.
Chelsea fixtures
Currently, this is their league schedule until the end. All are ranked as either a two or three on the game’s Fixture Difficulty Rating, apart from a late trip to Man United.
Should Chelsea win tonight’s FA Cup clash with Middlesbrough, it will turn their Double Gameweek 33 into a single fixture. In that case, both Leicester (H) and Leeds (a) will be inserted elsewhere to create two other doubles.
Whilst 41.6% of top 10k managers have coverage of Chelsea’s defence, only 12.14% began Gameweek 29 with faith in their attacking options. This is according to LiveFPL.
The time to take calculated late-season risks has arrived, so which of their midfielders can be trusted most?
The Chelsea midfield
Mason Mount (£7.5m)
Starting with their top-scoring midfielder for both FPL points (123) and goals (8). Mount has played the second-most minutes of all Chelsea’s midfielders, behind Jorginho. He has started 19 of the 25 matchday squad appearances, which may concern managers considering their Champions League quarter-finals against Real Madrid are between Gameweeks 31, 32 and 33.
Hakim Ziyech (£7.3m)
The Moroccan international was on the verge of being a target for the masses, following consecutive goals against Brighton, Tottenham and Crystal Palace. Then he got injured. However, he played all 90 minutes versus Newcastle and only made a cameo appearance in Lille.
Despite only playing 38% of Chelsea’s league minutes, he’s taken their second-most shots (38).
Kai Havertz (£7.8m)
Is it still too soon to mention Havertz’s name after the infamous Gameweek 9 blank against Norwich? Playing up front, he was somehow the only Chelsea starter to blank during their 7-0 win.
But Havertz may have again secured his place as Thomas Tuchel’s leading man, having played all 360 minutes of their last four league matches, delivering four goals plus an assist. If this is the case, his out-of-position potential is huge.
Christian Pulisic (£7.9m)
The American seems to be more of a Champions League man, having scored in both Lille matches. Yet he picked up 13 points against Burnley in Gameweek 28. Although Pulisic has momentum, he’s probably still a rotating player that costs more than the other three.
Comparison
For an at-a-glance comparison of where these four stand on basic FPL stats, expected goals (xG), expected goal involvement (xGI) and the frequency in which they start when available, here is a table.
It suggests that Mason Mount is most likely to start every match and has the FPL points to showcase his goal threat. Alternatively, based on recent form, Kai Havertz might be the calculated risk that’s worth taking.
Already difficult to predict, it will be fascinating to see how Thomas Tuchel assigns game time with those huge Real Madrid matches sandwiched in-between.
For those proceeding with a Chelsea midfielder, good luck.
