Tottenham Hotspur return to Premier League action today as they host Chelsea in a huge clash for both clubs.
Neither team boasts particularly sparkling form and will see their respective opposition as a huge potential scalp to reignite their stumbling seasons.
With Spurs confirming that Cristian Stellini will remain in charge as Antonio Conte continues his recovery from surgery, the 47-year-old has a huge task on his hands to select the right squad capable of piling on the misery for Graham Potter.
One change in particular that Stellini could employ is to once again drop Richarlison to the bench, especially considering that Heung-min Son – who came on to replace the Brazilian against West Ham United last week – scored in that match.
Will Richarlison get dropped against Chelsea?
It is admittedly a line-up change which is almost expected, with the blind faith shown to the South Korean throughout a tough season likely to continue now he has finally scored.
His goal against the Irons marked his fourth of the campaign, and the first goal in his last six Premier League games. Whilst this is a disappointing return, it is still a huge improvement on the Brazilian, who is yet to score in the top flight since his £60m summer move and netted in only one of his 20 appearances for the club in total (and that was in early September).
Having been brought in from Everton, Richarlison was expected to offer stiff competition for the Spurs forwards, but he has not managed to seize his opportunities, even whilst Son has struggled. As such, the 25-year-old’s dismissal from the starting line-up today would be more than justified.
He has been handed a 6.66 Sofascore rating for the campaign so far, and despite averaging 1.1 shots per game, it is clear that he is lacking the confidence and cutting-edge which will be needed against the Blues.
The talismanic forward looks like a shadow of the player who salvaged the Toffees from relegation with his ten-goal heroics last season.
The £90k-per-week dud has unsurprisingly come under fire for his consistently underwhelming displays, with former Aston Villa forward Gabby Agbonlahor leading the disdain by claiming: “He’s got to buck his ideas up. He’s been poor. Zero Premier League goals and we’re in February, it’s not good enough.”
It is hard to disagree with this claim, but it seems unlikely that Richarlison will be given the chance to prove his critics wrong from the off today. Stellini will surely prefer a somewhat underperforming Son, who last season scored 23 goals and set up another nine in the league, to a majorly underperforming Richarlison.
