Chelsea will be looking to put their Burnley disappointment behind them when they take on Manchester United this Thursday.
And after failing to beat the Clarets despite taking the lead twice and having a man advantage, Chelsea supporters will want to see a win when Erik ten Hag’s men travel to Stamford Bridge.
The only problem is, the Blues have not actually beaten United in the league since 2017.
Will that change on Thursday? Well if Chelsea are to have any hope of ending their abysmal record against their Premier League rivals, then Mauricio Pochettino needs to recall one of his players.
Which Chelsea player does Mauricio Pochettino need to recall for the visit of Manchester United?
Chelsea have quite a few problems right now. If they did not, then the club would obviously not be sitting in the bottom half of the table.
In the first half of the season, their attack looked to be the issue, with Nicolas Jackson misfiring.
However, the Senegal international was not doing too badly before the Burnley draw, scoring in back-to-back Premier League games versus Newcastle United and Brentford, while Cole Palmer has been in devastating form of late.
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It was the England international who scored both of Chelsea’s goals over the weekend.
Defensively, though, the Blues have been a shambles lately and it could now be time for Pochettino to consider restoring Thiago Silva to his starting XI again.
Chelsea need Thiago Silva
Were Chelsea flying before Silva was dropped from the team? No, but you still cannot help but feel that Pochettino’s side would be doing a bit better at the back if someone of his experience and leadership was on the pitch.
Conceding two goals against a 10-man Burnley side is pitiful, while the manner in which they conceded versus Leicester the match prior to their last outing was just as embarrassing.
Silva, this season, is still making the most amount of clearances per league game in Chelsea’s squad (4.6), according to WhoScored.
The Brazilian is just not as reckless at the back as some of his team-mates.
At this stage, it does not look like Chelsea are going to extend Silva’s £110,000-a-week contract (Spotrac), which expires in the summer. But while he is here, they may as well use him, especially in big games like the United one. Without him, Pochettino’s side are probably going to concede and drop more points.
