Chelsea squad player who won most duels on the pitch last time out must start tonight | OneFootball

It’s been a bitterly disappointing couple of weeks for Joao Felix.

The Portugal star has been very patient since arriving back for a second crack at Chelsea in the summer. He’s had to play mainly in the UEFA Europa Conference League and wait for his shot. It seemed like that moment had finally come – with Mykhailo Mudryk suspended, Noni Madueke left out for disciplinary reasons, Jadon Sancho and Pedro Neto in need of a break, and the Blues in need of a goal, Felix felt like a prime candidate to come on against both Everton and Fulham in our last two games.

Instead, he saw the field in neither matchup, betraying Enzo Maresca’s lack of belief in the attacker to change the game, when the chips are really down.

Tonight brings another big opportunity. Surely there will be changes to face Ipswich, and Felix is front of the queue to play. We expect to see him on the left wing, given there are few other options there. He was used in a similar role back in November against Leicester and did exceptionally well. Tonight we expect him to reprise that role, with a returning Madueke on the right and both Neto and Sancho rested.

Fully changed front 3 could bring fresh energy

Chelsea generic squad celebrate with their fans (Photo by Henry Browne/Getty Images)

Nicolas Jackson also looks in need of a break – could we see Christopher Nkunku up top? That would mean the radical move of an entirely different front 3 to the last few games. It’s a change that might just be worth making given the dramatic slowdown in our expected goals generation in that period.

When he was given a starting shot against the Foxes, Felix impressed by winning the most duels on the pitch. Let’s hope he returns tonight with a similar fire in his belly after recent snubs.