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Fantasy Premier League: The Reason For Chilwell Being On The Bench And An Update On Martinelli's Injury

On Sunday, Chelsea drew with Bournemouth and Arsenal defeated Everton with a score line of 1-0. Let's take a look at the reason for Chilwell being on the bench and an update on Martinelli's injury.

By ayush | Sep 18, 2023 | 3 Min Read

Chelsea had to settle for a draw during their visit to the southern coast, as their difficulties in scoring continued. Despite appearing somewhat uncoordinated, the Blues were generally the superior team throughout the match. Both Raheem Sterling (£7.2m) and Jackson had their shots blocked by the woodwork, and Colwill also had a goal disallowed due to offside. However, they must significantly improve their goal-scoring efficiency, as they have only managed to find the back of the net five times out of an expected 10.13 goals (xG) so far this season.

17 shots, 10 on target, but no goals on the south coast! 😮#BOUCHE pic.twitter.com/YXdwaBAMUg
— Premier League (@premierleague) September 17, 2023

Chilwell Benched

In the game against Bournemouth, Ben Chilwell was replaced by Mykhailo Mudryk in Chelsea’s starting lineup. Mauricio Pochettino opted for a “more attacking” player on the left wing in this game. “I think we are going to play with Mudryk in the position that we normally have been playing Chilwell. We will play with a more offensive player and keep the back four.” – Mauricio Pochettino

Chilwell had started in all of Chelsea’s first four matches but had been replaced around the 60-minute mark in Gameweeks 2 and 4. In the Bournemouth match, he did make an appearance off the bench in the 80th minute, taking over for Levi Colwill at left-back. Chilwell also delivered a beautiful cross for Nicolas Jackson but he was later cautioned for a deliberate pull-back in injury time.

On the other hand, Mudryk has encountered difficulties since joining Chelsea from Shakhtar Donetsk in January, rarely completing a full 90 minutes in the Premier League. Nonetheless, he managed to create a couple of promising opportunities on Sunday before being substituted after an hour of play.

Martinelli’s Injury

Gabriel Martinelli suffered a suspected hamstring injury in the game against Everton on Sunday. This unfortunate event occurred just moments after he believed he had scored, only to have his goal disallowed for offside after a VAR review. “He felt something in his hamstring so he will need to be assessed. He felt, I think, something in the action in the run for the goal. He’s not normally a player to have muscular issues, but he had to come off. Let’s see.” – Mikel Arteta on Gabriel Martinelli’s injury

The seriousness of the injury is not yet clear, but it does raise doubts about Martinelli’s availability for the eagerly awaited north London derby next weekend. In response to his injury, Martinelli was substituted and replaced by Leandro Trossard, who later scored a beautiful winner. If the Brazilian’s absence from the lineup is confirmed, Trossard may see an increased role in the starting XI.