Chelsea will be looking to get their season back on track when they face Aston Villa on Saturday, October 17, 2015 at Stamford Bridge.
The Blues will be without Serbian defender, Branislav Ivanovic who picked up a hamstring injury while on international duty against Albania last week. The injury is to keep the 31-year-old out of action for 3-4 weeks.
The normal thinking will be that in absence of the Serbian, Jose Mourinho will play Cesar Azpilicueta at right back and introduce Baba Rahman at left-back. It is however uncertain if the £21m Ghanaian will get his chance. Mourinho feels he hasn’t fully adapted to the premier league and needs time. The Portuguese manager is also of the opinion that Rahman will not be the best option for defending set pieces as he will need three tall players to do that job.
Speaking after Chelsea’s 1-3 loss to Southampton, Mourinho was asked of the 21-year-old Ghanaian and he had this to say:
“Baba Rahman arrived on the last day (of the transfer window) and he doesn’t know what it is to play in this kind of championship.
“He had no pre-season with us. He needs time to learn and adapt.
“At the same time, every team except Maccabi Tel Aviv is a team of giants. If you don’t have a minimum of five tall players good in the air, you are dead on set pieces. When I play Azpilicueta on the right and Baba on the left, I have only three. So we have to think about all the details,” the Chelsea boss explained.
As a result of the manager’s thinking, it won’t be so much of a surprise if 20-year-old French defender Kurt Zouma steps in at right position with John Terry and Gary Cahill forming the pairing at centre back while Cesar Azpilicueta retains his place at left back position.
Do you think Zouma will do a good job at right back?
