Crystal Palace vs Chelsea: Mauricio Pochettino and Roy Hodgson struggling to find balance

The Blues have the youngest team in the league, while the Eagles are not paying attention to their talented young players.

In football, having a mix of young and experienced players is important. But both Chelsea and Crystal Palace haven’t quite found the right balance.

On Monday night, these two teams will play each other at Selhurst Park. They are on opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to their squads, but they both need to find a middle ground.

Chelsea’s main challenge is to have enough leaders in their young team. Since 2022, they’ve spent over £1 billion on many players who are not yet proven at the highest level. Most of these players are under 25 years old.

The average age of the team that recently beat Aston Villa was just 22.8 years old. Chelsea’s squad is the youngest in the Premier League.

Recently, head coach Mauricio Pochettino has faced criticism from some fans. His challenge is to help his inexperienced team build momentum and get consistent results.

It’s time to be consistent,” Pochettino said. “We need to approach every game like we did against Aston Villa.

Thiago Silva, who is 39 years old, is Chelsea’s oldest regular player by ten years. But after a bad performance in a recent game, he was dropped from the team. His playing time might be limited for the rest of the season.

It shows the situation Chelsea is in when their club captain, Reece James, is only 24 years old. Conor Gallagher, who is also 24, has become a leader while wearing the captain’s armband for much of the season, especially when James was injured.

“I don’t pick the team based on age. I don’t want to be known as the coach who always picks the youngest team in England. It’s always about quality,” said Pochettino.