Mauricio Pochettino has had plenty of time to consider his options in preparation for Chelsea’s return to Premier League football at the weekend.
The international break is still only halfway through, and a number of players still have opportunities to impress the boss from afar in an attempt to secure a start when they face Burnley.
Pochettino will be well aware that pressure is rising on him, and certain members of the fanbase are beginning to get frustrated with decisions he is making.
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Pressure on Pochettino and Sterling
The most noticeable one recently is continuing to start Raheem Sterling on the wing, despite the fact that he is struggling right now.
His form has seen him left out of the England squad on recent occasions, and his last outing at Stamford Bridge was an absolute nightmare.
He was finally replaced with minutes to go, much to the delight of the Stamford Bridge crowd, with Noni Madueke coming on his place.
Despite the fact that he was on for only a matter of minutes, he announced himself to the fixture with his sensational goal, helping Chelsea secure their place in the FA Cup semi-final.
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Madueke deserves Chelsea start
The Englishman has taken his opportunity to impress on the international stage too, scoring again for the U21 side earlier in the break.
Starting fixtures for Chelsea has been a rare occurrence since he joined over a year ago, however there doesn’t look a better time than now for that to be addressed.
Another player who will be pushing for a rare start in attack is Mykhailo Mudryk, after he has shown positive signs in limited minutes too.
However, both players are aware that they are likely to fall behind the likes of Cole Palmer and Nicolas Jackson, when it comes to picking a squad, given how important they have proved to be in attack this season.
