Why Mauricio Pochettino may be forced to drop one of his most loyal players for FA Cup semi | OneFootball

Axel Disasi missed Monday night’s win over Everton with a small injury, one of the few games he’s sat out all season. Constant injuries in this team both at right back and centre back have meant there’s always been a place for the Frenchman, even when his form hasn’t been great.

Nathan Gissing, who has a few decent connections behind the scenes, claims that the issue that kept him out of Monday’s game was minor, and that there should be no problems with his selection for this weekend, when we take on Manchester City in the FA Cup semi final.

“Axel Disasi will not be in tonight’s squad as Chelsea face Everton – but his issue isn’t thought to be anything major. He’s likely to be available for the next game,” Gissing wrote.

With Malo Gusto rested last week, the right back slot is taken. That leaves two spaces at centre back, and a decision about who should fill them.

A decision for Pochettino

In what is our biggest one off remaining game of the season, Mauricio Pochettino suddenly has a big call to make. Does he drop Trevoh Chalobah, who has been perhaps our best defender this season on a game by game basis? Or does he drop Thiago Silva, who is the most experienced player in the squad? The pair of them kept our first clean sheet in months on Monday night, and breaking up that pair would be a risk.

Equally, Disasi has been almost ever-present this season, and it would be a real gut-punch to him to lose his place after missing just one game, on the eve of an FA Cup semi final.

Pochettino will do what is best for the team, ultimately, but one of the three will end up feeling pretty hard done by.