The huge competition at Chelsea can make players nervous. Klopp and Guardiola are working with 20 players, thinks Neville

Chelsea’s woes continue. The London side drew 0:0 with Fulham in the 22nd round of the Premier League on Friday, their sixth win in the last seven matches. It was not even a good game, which was noticed by Sky Sports experts.

Chelsea played their first game after the end of the transfer window on Friday night. Fulham came to Stamford Bridge, beating Chelsea 1-0 in the two-week old friendly, thanks to a red card for Joao Felix.

And the February game was no offensive show either. Chelsea didn’t get into the attack properly, Fulham played for a draw and the London derby ended just like the last Chelsea-Liverpool match 0:0.

“Chelsea played in an ordinary, boring way. It was the fault of theinconsistency, Potter hasn’t had time to work with the reinforcements and improve them yet,” said Gary Neville in the Sky Sports studio.

And the fixture won’t be easy. Chelsea have brought in 17 new names since the summer transfer window. Hints have been circulating the internet about the fact that the new owner has bought five more players than the Blues have wins.

In any case, the London big club will go into the second part of the season with a wide squad. However, every post at least doubled and a lot of competition may not be to their advantage, according to the former England national team defender and current expert.

“Let’s not forget that the two best managers of the last five years in England, Klopp and Guardiola, work with small squads. They have good rosters but they are still building the same 20 players,” Neville said.

Slavia, for example, has a bad recent experience with an overly wide squad. The latter rotated its roster constantly at the end of last season and lost the championship title in the playoffs. They rotated stoppers and even goalkeepers.

The atmosphere in Jindřich Trpišovský’s team was good, but even that is not a given with a loaded squad. Competition can help individuals, but only healthy competition. And if four players are fighting for one spot in the lineup, it may not bear fruit.

“Guardiola and Klopp have a tighter squad because it inspires confidence in the players. The problem for Potter is marked by players who know they won’t play. There will be plenty of those and it is questionable how it will affect their approach to training and the atmosphere in the team,” Neville added.

Source: Sky Sports