Mauricio Pochettino could field £118m Chelsea midfield duo to take on Moises Caicedo
Chelsea take on Brighton & Hove Albion on Sunday morning in the Blues' second match of their pre-season tour of the United States. After beating Wrexham 5-0 much sterner competition awaits in the Seagulls, who excelled in the Premier League last season under Roberto De Zerbi.
Mauricio Pochettino experimented with 20 different players in his first match as Chelsea head coach on Thursday morning. The Argentine deployed the 4-2-3-1 formation, something we've become accustomed to seeing his teams play over the years — and we could expect something similar when Chelsea face Brighton in Philadelphia on Sunday.
Against Wrexham, Pochettino used Andrey Santos and Cesare Casadei as a double pivot in midfield and the young duo, who both are not sure whether they will be with the club for the upcoming season or on loan elsewhere, excelled in their roles. Casadei, who was just one of two Chelsea players – alongside Bashir Humphreys – to complete the 90 minutes, moved into a more advanced role in the second-half and showcased what he can do with a little more freedom as well.
At least one of Santos and Casadei could start again at the weekend in the double pivot but there might be the re-introduction of Enzo Fernandez alongside them. The Argentina international has not trained as much as some of his teammates and was not used in the win against Wrexham earlier in the week.
Fernandez, who cost £106million from Benfica in the January transfer window, is the man Pochettino wants to build his midfield around this summer, so adding him into the side will go some way in determining how the Chelsea head coach wants to play. Ironically, though, Fernandez could be going head-to-head with his future partner Moises Caicedo.
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