This December, Chelsea face a gruelling run of eight fixtures across 28 days, from Leeds on the 3rd to Bournemouth on the 30th. With an average of one match every three and a half days, it’s a relentless schedule that will test their squad depth, focus and fitness.
A combination of six league games, one Champions League tie and a League Cup clash will see Chelsea battle on three fronts over the festive period. With rotation and injuries bound to play a part, it’ll be up to Enzo Maresca to keep his squad fresh through this demanding December. How he navigates the congested schedule could have a significant impact on Chelsea’s entire season.
Chelsea’s December Fixtures
| Date | Opponents | Home/Away | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3rd Dec | Leeds | Away | Premier League |
| 6th Dec | Bournemouth | Away | Premier League |
| 9th Dec | Atalanta | Away | Champions League |
| 13th Dec | Everton | Home | Premier League |
| 16th Dec | Cardiff | Away | League Cup |
| 20th Dec | Newcastle | Away | Premier League |
| 27th Dec | Aston Villa | Home | Premier League |
| 30th Dec | Bournemouth | Home | Premier League |
There is a lot of travelling for Chelsea in December, with five of their first six matches away from Stamford Bridge, and none of them against London teams. One of the away trips even sees them head abroad to Italy, so the Blues will be clocking up their fair share of miles across the first three weeks of the month. Let us take a closer look at all upcoming tests by competition.
Champions League
With Chelsea currently in 12th place in the Champions League table, their fixture against Atalanta on the 9th is not something they can afford to take lightly. The Blues will want to finish in the top eight, a position that means they avoid the knockout phase play-offs. This is still a distinct possibility, but failure to take three points from Atalanta will harm their chances significantly. It should also be pointed out that before this game, Chelsea have to take on Barcelona.
This very difficult fixture could see the Blues slip further from the top eight before they take on the Italians.
League Cup
This is perhaps the only fixture over December in which Chelsea can rest a fair few players. Cup ties away at lower league opponents are sometimes a recipe for an upset (see Man Utd at Grimsby Town), but a second-string Chelsea side ‘should’ win this match.
Cardiff will take the contest seriously, despite being involved in an intense promotion battle, but Chelsea’s superior quality, especially the depth of that quality, should make the difference on the day. If the Blues progress, the first leg of the semi-final will be scheduled for January, rather than adding to their December schedule.
Premier League
Victory over Wolves ahead of the November international break saw Chelsea move up to third in the Premier League table. While this is a position most Blues fans will be fully satisfied with, the table remains tightly congested. Just three points behind Chelsea are Crystal Palace down in 10th place. Six points fewer would push the Blues down to 14th place, behind Everton. The point being made here is that a poor festive run in the league could see Chelsea slide right down the table.
| Position | Team | Goal Difference | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Arsenal | +15 | 26 |
| 2nd | Manchester City | +15 | 22 |
| 3rd | Chelsea | +10 | 20 |
| 4th | Sunderland | +4 | 19 |
| 5th | Tottenham Hotspur | +9 | 18 |
| 6th | Aston Villa | +3 | 18 |
| 7th | Manchester United | +1 | 18 |
| 8th | Liverpool | +1 | 18 |
| 9th | Bournemouth | −1 | 18 |
| 10th | Crystal Palace | +5 | 17 |
The good news for them is that they do not have the hardest run of games over December. They only play one club in the top eight (after gameweek 11), with this being Aston Villa. Other opponents include Bournemouth (9th), Everton (13th), Newcastle (14th) and Leeds United (16th). The average position of clubs, given there are two clashes with Bournemouth, works out to be 11.2.
Currently, Chelsea’s average points per game is 1.81. This works out to be virtually 11 points from six fixtures. So, as a minimum, the Blues should be expecting three wins and a couple of draws from their six league clashes. This seems a fairly reasonable target and something that Maresca’s men should be able to manage, provided they can deal with the fatigue that inevitably comes at this time of year.
Last season, Maresca’s side won four league games in a row in December before drawing with Everton and then losing to Fulham and Ipswich. If fatigue was behind that dip in form a year ago, the manager should be better equipped to cope with the schedule this time around.
State of Squad
As we near the busy festive schedule, some Premier League clubs already have several significant injuries, which makes navigating this tricky period even harder. Chelsea’s situation, however, looks fairly positive. Enzo Fernandez and Pedro Neto were withdrawn against Wolves, but both are thought to be minor issues that should be sorted by December. Meanwhile, Cole Palmer and Benoit Badiashile are nearing returns and are expected to be ready for selection shortly after the November international break.
There is also hope that Romeo Lavia will overcome his quadricep problem during the back end of December, which will help bolster options in the centre of midfield. This means that, assuming no fresh problems before December, Maresca will only be without his two long-term absentees, Dario Essugo and Levi Colwill. This is a strong position for the Italian to be in and one that could see Chelsea navigate this tricky period without too many problems.