Chelsea hope to avoid second cup loss
Manager Conte’s paucity of striking options causing him most concern as Blues face Magpies
>> LONDON: After being knocked out of the League Cup by Arsenal in Wednesday’s semi-finals, Chelsea host Newcastle in the fourth round of the FA Cup tomorrow with manager Antonio Conte again complaining about the lack of depth in his squad.
Conte voiced his concerns over a lack of transfer activity at Chelsea after his side’s League Cup exit and it is the manager’s paucity of striking options that will be causing him most concern.
Chelsea are clearly not at crisis point as before their 2-1 semi-final second-leg defeat at Arsenal they were unbeaten in 12 games and are still in the Champions League and the FA Cup.
But a look at Chelsea’s forward resources and their lack of goals recently shows why Conte cut such a frustrated figure in the aftermath of the Arsenal loss.
Take the 4-0 win over Brighton and Hove Albion last Saturday out of the equation and Chelsea have scored two goals in their last five games and two of the matches were against Championship side Norwich City.
In the absence of Alvaro Morata, Michy Batshuayi acted as an excellent attacking pivot in the victory over Brighton but it is clear Conte remains unconvinced by the Belgium international.
Batshuayi was again dropped to the bench for the Arsenal clash and when Willian left the pitch early due to injury Conte turned to midfielder Ross Barkley, who had not played all season because of a hamstring injury.
Leading marksman Morata’s goals have dried up. After six in his first six Premier League games, the Spaniard has scored four in his last 14 since picking up an injury in late September.
“You expect him to be a little bit cooler in front of the goalkeeper,” former Chelsea forward Gianfranco Zola said after Chelsea’s 2-2 Premier League draw at Arsenal. “He needs to be a bit more ruthless.”
Unless Conte deploys midfielder Eden Hazard as a striker, as he did against Arsenal on Wednesday, that is about it in terms of forward options.
“We don’t have many players to make subs,” Conte said after the Arsenal loss. “My first task is to do my job and be a coach. I don’t have a big impact in the transfer market.”
A host of names have been linked with a move to Stamford Bridge this transfer window, including West Ham United’s Andy Carroll and Stoke City’s Peter Crouch, but there have been no arrivals apart from Barkley.
Without new additions, Chelsea’s season may depend on whether Morata can rediscover his sharpness in front of goal.
Meanwhile, Tottenham defender Jan Vertonghen said the London club learned a valuable lesson from a 2-1 defeat at Leeds United in the FA Cup five years ago and they will take nothing for granted when they face League Two side Newport County today.
“It was a while ago ... a tough experience,” Vertonghen, who made his FA Cup debut in the 2013 defeat, told the club’s website.
“Away games are always tough in the FA Cup, everyone is up for it, especially against a Premier League team and we suffered that day.
“The smaller teams have always got their own crowd behind them and they’re always extra motivated, but we’re used to away games and we have to cope with it. We have to be professional.
“We’ve been working on that,” Vertonghen added. “I think this team has great focus, we know what we want and I’m very proud of that.
“We’ve got a professional team that will approach this game against Newport in a very good way. We just have to approach it in the way we approach Premier League games, which we will.”
Tottenham and fourth-tier Newport will face each other for the first time since consecutive FA Cup meetings in 1959 and 1960, with Spurs winning both games.
Newport are eighth in League Two while Tottenham are fifth in the Premier League.
FIXTURES
(kick-offs 10pm Thai time unless stated)
Today
Peterborough v Leicester City (7.30pm), Huddersfield Town v Birmingham City, Notts County v Swansea City, Milton Keynes Dons v Coventry City, Millwall v Rochdale, Southampton v Watford, Middlesbrough v Brighton, Wigan Athletic v West Ham United, Hull City v Nottingham Forest, Sheffield United v Preston North End, Newport County v Tottenham Hotspur (00.30am, Sun), Liverpool v West Bromwich Albion (2.45am, Sun)
Tomorrow
Chelsea v Newcastle United (8.30pm) Cardiff City v Manchester City (11pm)