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Chelsea are set to face Crystal Palace at Stamford Bridge in their Premier League encounter on December 27, looking to bounce back from their weekend defeat. The Blues put on a shabby display against Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux in their last game. Manager Mauricio Pochettino has responded by making changes to his XI, which has drawn plenty of reactions from the club's fans.
Pochettino saw two of his most trusted players, Cole Palmer and Raheem Sterling, pick up their fifth yellow cards of the season against Wolves. This automatically ruled the duo out for the visit of the Eagles, forcing the manager to alter his squad.
Moises Caicedo returned to the starting XI for the game after missing out on the weekend game through illness. There is also a full debut for big-money (£52 million) summer signing Christopher Nkunku after his goal in the 2-1 defeat at Wolves.
Also, experienced centre-back Thiago Silva has been granted some much-needed rest, with Benoit Badiashile taking his place in the XI. Romeo Lavia makes his second bench appearance for the club and hopes to make it onto the pitch for his debut.
Pochettino has named young full-back Ian Maatsen in the starting lineup for the first time in the league. The 21-year-old Dutch defender is listed as a winger in the lineup, and his inclusion sparked angry responses from Chelsea fans on X.
One fan tweeted:
"Maatsen is a left back Colwill is a centre back Pochettino is a mad man Maatsen is actually playing RW 💀"
Another wrote:
"Maatsen RW over Madueke….. GET THIS GUY OUTTTTTT FSSSS"
Chelsea find themselves needing a win to move back into the top half of the standings after Bournemouth moved up to 10th. Pochettino's side will hope that they find the needed performance to guarantee a win in front of their fans.
Their squad for the match against the Eagles has been further depleted by the suspensions of Sterling and Palmer. They were already without Enzo Fernandez and Reece James, two of their stalwarts, through injury.
Chelsea face make-or-break period
The Mauricio Pochettino era at Chelsea began with a great deal of positivity after his impressive showings in pre-season months. The former Tottenham Hotspur manager won over the fans with his enthusiasm and impressive brand of football, but all that looks a distant past now.
The Blues have lost four away games on the spin, and a damning statistic emerged after their defeat at Molineux on Sunday. Only three sides in Europe's top five leagues lost more games than the Blues this season despite their huge spending.
Pochettino and his young squad know that their performances have not been up to scratch and need to find quality and consistency within themselves. The club must find a way to return to its former glories before it becomes a perpetual mid-table side.
