The simple stat that shows where Chelsea are struggling – Talk Chelsea

The actual fact is that Chelsea aren’t having an excellent season.

We’re down in 7th place in the Premier League and there are a number of causes for that. However in case you have a look at the uncooked stats, there’s one which jumps out as a transparent problem for why we’re struggling to maintain tempo with the highest 4.

The season’s xG statistics up to now, as we put together to enter the World Cup break, present that we’ve in eighth place within the division, with 1.6 anticipated targets per sport.

That reveals that the probabilities we’re creating simply aren’t adequate or quite a few sufficient.

Losing Reece James has been a huge blow in that regard. In addition to simply being a superb throughout full again, he’s our principal attacking outlet, and he causes a lot havoc on his personal that the entire staff advantages.

With out him we’ve actually struggled to interchange his creativity, and to generate possibilities in any respect.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has been poor up entrance, however his lack of involvement can also be all the way down to this lack of provide. We’ve seen younger Armando Broja step in to interchange him, as followers have demanded, only to struggle in much the same way as the former Arsenal man.

They appear disconnected and unable to contribute to play successfully, at the same time as the only real attacking point of interest of the staff. All too typically they’re smothered by the attentions of two or 3 central defenders.

The break developing will give Graham Potter an incredible likelihood to rectify all that. Not solely does it give James and his fellow injured stars time to get better, it additionally offers Potter time on the coaching pitch with all of his non-World Cup attending gamers.

There are a good group of them – together with Broja and Aubameyang – in addition to a few of the midfielders and defenders behind them who’re speculated to be offering the probabilities.

Hopefully that – plus maybe the addition of some new firepower or creativity in January – will permit this staff to begin creating the probabilities it must create to attain the targets it wants to attain to win the video games it must win to achieve the highest 4 and the Champions League.

If we aren’t larger than eighth within the anticipated targets desk come the tip of the season, we will’t actually count on to complete wherever above the place we are actually – and subsequent season we will probably be within the Europa League or the Convention League, with Arsenal and Spurs followers laughing at us.