Chelsea picked up vital three points against Antonio Conte’s Spurs on Sunday in the Premier League. The Blues have FA Cup, Club World Cup and a lot of travelling on schedule before they resume Premier League duties. After 23rd January, Chelsea will next play in the league on 19th February. That is quite a substantial gap between league games.
Winning Sunday’s London derby was important on multiple fronts. Not only was this their first win of 2022 and first since Boxing Day, it was their first home win since a scrappy one against Leeds United in early December. Not only that, they stopped a wretched eight-match winless streak against Big Six rivals, spanning back to June 2020. But most importantly, it consolidated their third position in the league table, something that has come under scrutiny amidst their horrific recent run.
When do Chelsea play next in the Premier League?
There won’t be a round of Premier League games this weekend owing to the winter/covid break. The week after that is FA Cup weekend in which Chelsea host Plymouth. Following that, there’s a full round of midweek matches in the league, but Chelsea will fly to UAE to compete in the Club World Cup. It is a competition that traditionally takes place in mid-December, but covid has impacted the schedules of many tournaments, including this one.
Chelsea have already played the game they were supposed to play in that midweek round. Their game against Arsenal on the weekend of 12th February is the one affected by the Club World Cup. Chelsea will finally resume Premier League action on 19th February, against Crystal Palace.
Is this sabbatical a blessing in disguise for Chelsea?
In hindsight, it is. Being part of five competitions brings its own set of problems. While those are problems you want to have as a club, for Chelsea, they took a telling toll. Playing thrice a week for practically two months in a row has thrown a whole host of injury problems for Thomas Tuchel. Add in the covid outbreak in the squad, and Tuchel has had to make do with fringe players and reserves who couldn’t make the step up.
After the Brighton game, Tuchel said that players are tired and need a rest. “It has been like this since November, we are a team that plays and plays and plays. We need to de-connect, that is my feeling. We need to give the players two days off. There is no other solution.” the German said in the aftermath of dropping points against Brighton. The upcoming few weeks present a good opportunity for Tuchel to rest some of those tired legs.
The Champions League is also returning and there’s an EFL Cup final on the horizon as well. Chelsea’s life will get back to its unrelenting nature following the trip to UAE, so it is important they return revitalised.