EPL

Impossible to replace Reece James and Ben Chilwell – Mauricio Pochettino

By Sports Desk September 29, 2023

Mauricio Pochettino said it would impossible for the club to replace injured pair Reece James and Ben Chilwell in the transfer market as they are “the best full-backs in the world”.

Chilwell underwent a scan on Thursday on the hamstring problem that forced him off in the closing stages of the EFL Cup win over Brighton, with the manager confirming it “looks a bad injury” though he was unable to put a timescale to it.

New club captain James has not played since the 1-1 draw with Liverpool on the opening weekend of the Premier League season, and will not be fit to return before the next international break.

Both players missed significant portions of last season through injury, Chilwell playing 23 times in the league and James only 16, a contributing factor to Chelsea’s worst finish in 30 years.

Malo Gusto has deputised for James but will miss Monday’s game at Fulham after being red-carded against Aston Villa.

Marc Cucurella, Levi Colwill and Axel Disasi are all able to play at full-back but the manager said no deputy can be expected to bring what James and Chilwell do to the side.

“At all clubs, important players are missed when they don’t play,” he said. “If the question is ‘do we miss them?’ Of course. Reece is a top player and (Chilwell) also. When they’re at their best, they are the best full-backs in the world.

“But all teams when they miss important players are affected (in their) performance. Why did we not sign another Ben Chilwell and another Reece James? Because there’s only one Reece James and one Ben Chilwell.

“If you have in the squad one top player in one position, it’s difficult to bring in another one in the same position to sit on the bench. It’s about balance.”

Pochettino could be without as many as 11 players for the trip to Craven Cottage, with a lengthy injury list exacerbated by suspensions for Gusto and striker Nicolas Jackson.

Jackson is unavailable after collecting his fifth yellow card of the season against Villa, though there could be returns for Carney Chukwuemeka, who has not played since undergoing knee surgery in August, and Noni Madueke.

The manager was asked what he thought about Burnley boss Vincent Kompany’s proposal that players should be limited in the number of games they can play in a season in order to guard against injury.

“Maybe there are players that cannot cope with 70 games during the season, but another player can cope with that,” said Pochettino. “Another player only can cope with a limited percentage, because the risk is massive to get injured again.

“It’s difficult to generalise. We cannot put some limit on the players. The players want to play every single game. When it’s a top player who wants to play, how do you say no?”

Pochettino added that he may opt to play without a striker in the absence of Jackson, with Armando Broja not yet ready to start and Christopher Nkunku not available until December.

“The most important (thing) is to adapt to the players that are available, to try to find a way to perform,” he said. “Maybe different characteristics we can use, like we can play with one striker or without a striker.

“I need to asses all the squad and take that decision.”

Related items

  • Europa Conference League: Aston Villa stunned by Olympiacos Europa Conference League: Aston Villa stunned by Olympiacos

    Aston Villa were stunned by Olympiacos as they suffered a 4-2 home defeat in the Europa Conference League.

    On what the Villa faithful hoped would be a famous night at Villa Park, they instead saw their team dispatched by their Greek opponents in the first leg of their semi-final encounter.

    Ayoub El Kaabi scored a hat-trick for the visitors, who were 2-0 up inside 30 minutes on Thursday.

    Ollie Watkins and Moussa Diaby struck either side of the interval to restore parity, but El Kaabi sealed his hat-trick from the penalty spot before Santiago Hezze added further gloss with a sensational finish. To add to Villa's misery, Douglas Luiz then missed a penalty late on.

    In the other semi-final tie, Fiorentina took a 3-2 aggregate lead against Club Brugge.

    M'Bala Nzola was Fiorentina's hero in stoppage time, scoring in the 91st minute to nudge the Serie A team ahead.

    Hans Vanaken had scored from a penalty following a VAR check for handball in the 17th minute, cancelling out Riccardo Sottil's early opener, though Fiorentina restored their lead through Andrea Belotti before half-time in a frantic first half.

    Thiago equalised for Brugge, but it was ultimately not enough.

  • Europa League: Wirtz and Andrich goals put Leverkusen on the brink, Marseille hold Atalanta Europa League: Wirtz and Andrich goals put Leverkusen on the brink, Marseille hold Atalanta

    Bayer Leverkusen put one foot in the Europa League final as Florian Wirtz and Robert Andrich scored in Thursday's 2-0 semi-final first-leg win over Roma at the Stadio Olimpico.

    Roma were masters of their own downfall as Wirtz opened the scoring after 28 minutes, Rick Karsdorp's horrible error allowing Alex Grimaldo to race into the area and tee up Wirtz to finish into an unguarded net.

    Though Daniele De Rossi's hosts improved after the break, Andrich added a spectacular second with 73 minutes on the clock, the midfielder giving Mile Svilar no chance as he side-footed into the top-left corner from 25 yards out.

    Roma should have pulled one back four minutes into stoppage time, but Tammy Abraham could only nod over from inside the six-yard box after a goalmouth scramble, and they now have it all to do in next week's second leg.

    Leverkusen's unbeaten run for 2023-24 stands at 47 games across all competitions (39 wins, eight draws), and they are now overwhelming favourites to stamp their ticket to the final in Dublin.

    The other semi-final tie remains in the balance at the halfway stage, with Atalanta being pegged back in a 1-1 draw with Marseille at the Stade Velodrome.

    Having scored twice in La Dea's memorable win at Anfield in the last round, Gianluca Scamacca took in Teun Koopmeiners' pass before finishing low across goal 11 minutes in, but Gian Piero Gasperini's team couldn't hold on.

    Chancel Mbemba was the unlikely goalscorer for Marseille, stepping out of defence to clip a 25-yard effort against the far post and in after 20 minutes.

    Neither side could find a winner from there, meaning it's all to play for ahead of next week's return fixture at the Gewiss Stadium in Bergamo.  

  • Orlando City v FC Cincinnati: Acosta hails visitors for absorbing punches Orlando City v FC Cincinnati: Acosta hails visitors for absorbing punches

    Luciano Acosta has hailed FC Cincinnati for coming through a testing period as they look to make it three straight wins in MLS play at Orlando City on Saturday.

    After going unbeaten through their first six games of the season, Cincinnati suffered back-to-back 2-1 defeats against the New York Red Bulls and CF Montreal.

    However, they have since bounced back with two wins over difficult opponents, seeing off Atlanta United and the Colorado Rapids by the same scoreline.

    Acosta scored his 44th goal for Cincinnati – the most of any player in franchise history – in that latter game, and he believes their resilience has been key. 

    "I think it's just about our mentality," Acosta said. "We lost those two games and it was a bit of a punch that woke us up. But now it's about the mentality and getting back to it."

    Head coach Pat Noonan said of Acosta: "I think what makes it more impressive is teams are going to try to prevent him from having an impact. 

    "When you're a key player and you're able to do what he's doing with the focus on stopping you in a lot of ways, that's what is unique."

    Orlando, meanwhile, were beaten 2-1 by Toronto FC last week, halting their four-game unbeaten streak and dropping them to 13th in the Eastern Conference. 

    Forward Duncan McGuire felt the Lions should have taken maximum points from that game and is desperate to atone at Inter&Co Stadium.

    "I definitely think we should've won," he said.

    "I think how difficult this felt and how this feels for us right now is going to push us and motivate us to train hard all week, to get a win for the fans at home and get the job done."

    PLAYERS TO WATCH 

    Orlando City – Duncan McGuire

    Maguire scored his fourth goal of the MLS season against Toronto last week – no other Orlando player has netted more than once in 2024.

    Those goals have come from an expected goals (xG) figure of 2.7, with the United States international also attempting a team-high 27 shots this campaign.

    FC Cincinnati – Luciano Acosta 

    Acosta has contributed to at least one goal in four straight MLS matches (one goal, three assists). 

    It is Acosta's fifth streak of four or more straight regular-season games with a goal contribution for Cincinnati, with Brandon Vazquez the only other player to achieve that feat for the team.

    MATCH PREDICTION – ORLANDO CITY WIN

    Orlando earned a win and a draw against Supporters' Shield winners Cincinnati last season, making them one of two teams (also the New England Revolution) to play Cincinnati twice in the 2023 regular season and not lose either match.

    The Lions may just fancy their chances of another positive result against Noonan's men, who have only won one of their last three away games (one draw, one defeat).

    Orlando have only lost two of their last 17 regular-season home matches dating back to last April, winning nine and drawing six, so viewers should expect a response to their loss last time out.

    OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

    Orlando City – 49.3%

    FC Cincinnati – 23.6% 

    Draw – 27.1%

© 2023 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.