The Chelsea team for today’s game against Wolves is out, and a reshuffle means that Noni Madueke is playing on the right where Cole Palmer played last week, with Palmer coming more centrally to effectively replace the midfielder missing thanks to the absence of Romeo Lavia.
On BBC 5 Live, Pat Nevin had some very interesting comments about this switch up. He was positive about it, and thinks it will get the best out of our star player.
“Joao Felix not starting today gives Cole Palmer a go in the number 10 position, which is so long overdue. Not only for Chelsea but also for England,” Nevin said in the buildup.
“He played against Man City last week and was bordering on anonymous for the majority of the game in the wide position. That doesn’t happen when you’re in the 10, the play should surely go through you. In time that is definitely the best position for him.”
Palmer not unfamiliar with number 10 role
Listen, we’re not going to sit here and disagree with Nevin, who certainly knows a thing or two about playing in attack for Chelsea. But we’re not sure it’s quite as much of a novelty as he’s making out. While Palmer did play off the right a lot last season, he got plenty of central action too.
Just think of that successful run to end the season – that all came with Madueke down the right and Palmer in a more central area. We will likely see something similar today, so hopefully the players are ready to get stuck in straight away, and don’t need to spend any time adapting to this new but old setup.
Given Palmer limped off at the end of Thursday’s game, we’re just happy he’s fit to play at all today.
