Chelsea will bring the curtain down on the 2023/24 season this afternoon when they host AFC Bournemouth at Stamford Bridge. For the Blues, it represents a chance to secure European qualification after a season out of continental competition.
It was an achievement that seemed unlikely a few months ago, but some great form in recent weeks has ensured they turned things around. The Blues have lost just one league game since the start of March, the 5-0 drubbing at the hands of title-chasing Arsenal.
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In May, Chelsea have won all four of their games, scoring 12 goals along the way, and conceding just three. Notably, they handed out a 5-0 thrashing of their own, against West Ham United, and most recently beat Brighton and Hove Albion 2-1. Only Arsenal and Manchester City have won their last four games in the Premier League.
A large part of their good form has thanks been thanks to Cole Palmer, the newly-crowned Premier League Young Player of the Year winner. He has scored 22 goals and has registered ten assists in the Premier League this season.
Chelsea have also had some big players return to fitness recently, such as captain Reece James, although he was sent off against Brighton. Mauricio Pochettino will likely have some selection headaches ahead of the Bournemouth game, including one dilemma, potentially dropping a player who has shown flashes of good form of late.
Noni Madueke’s stats vs. Brighton
The player in question here is England under-21 international Noni Madueke, who, despite a tough outing against Brighton, has been in good form in recent weeks. The former PSV man has four goals and assists in his last five games for Chelsea.
However, against the Seagulls, Madueke struggled. As per Sofascore, the 22-year-old completed just one out of his six dribble attempts and won only two of his seven attempted ground duels. He also lost the ball seven times, earning a mere 5/10 match rating from GOAL’s Jacob Schneider as a result.
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With that being said, Madueke has played well at times this season, showing flashes of the form he had at PSV – where he registered 34 goal involvements in 80 games. The fleet-footed winger currently has eight goals and three assists in all competitions this term, with seven of those goal involvements coming in 22 Premier League games – a solid return overall.
However, it could well be the case that Pochettino decides to rotate Madueke out of the side, in favour of one of Chelsea’s returning stars, who has struggled with injury but came off the bench to score against Brighton.
The player to replace Madueke
It has not been an easy first season in the blue of Chelsea for Christopher Nkunku, with injuries hampering his debut campaign at Stamford Bridge. However, he has shown good form when fit and got on the scoresheet at the Amex.
Nkunku played 48 minutes against Roberto De Zerbi’s side, scoring a crucial second goal in the 64th minute. Outside of that, he completed one dribble, won five of the nine duels he contested and won two out of his three tackles, as well as creating one chance.
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The France international has played just ten Premier League games this season, scoring three goals in that time, against Wolverhampton Wanderers, Liverpool and Brighton. Sadly, he has missed 39 games through injury this campaign, with four different injuries affecting his season, according to Transfermarkt.
Nkunku’s injuries in 2023/24
Injury
Days missed
Games missed
Knee
109
15
Fitness
43
7
Hip
23
5
Hamstring
67
12
Stats from Transfermarkt
Should he come back into the side against Bournemouth from the start, Nkunku could well slot in as a number ten behind first-choice striker Nicolas Jackson, which would see Cole Palmer move back out to the right wing. Alternatively, Nkunku could play on the left-hand side, as a direct replacement for the injured Mykhaylo Mudryk.
Pochettino certainly has options, and one thing is for sure; Nkunku is a “real game changer”, a phrase used by football writer Rahman Osman to describe Chelsea’s view on Nkunku. The former RB Leipzig star can be a huge difference for the west Londoners against Bournemouth, as they look to secure an unlikely European finish and end the season on a high.
