Álvaro Morata’s Wake Up Call

Can Morata rediscover his scoring touch to fire Chelsea back into Champions League contention?

With just 8 games remaining, Chelsea already find themselves 5 points off a spot in next season’s Champions League.

It’s therefore easy to see why Sunday’s clash with Tottenham Hotspur, who are 4th in the table and one place above the Blues, is so important.

In addition to an FA Cup semi-final tie with Southampton, Chelsea still have to play 5 of the bottom 8, as well as a home league game with Liverpool at Stamford Bridge and a trip to Turf Moor to face highflying Burnley.

A win against Spurs will therefore put them right back in the mix but our GW32 goal projections indicate just how tight this one may be.

EPL Goals GW32

Luckily for the Blues, they have one player with a real point to prove – Álvaro Morata.

The Spanish international managed to score 5 times in qualifying from just 5 appearances as his national side secured their place in Russia but his omission from Julen Lopetegui’s squad for the recent international friendlies will surely have have come as something of a wake up call.

Rodrigo started in the number 9 position against World Cup holders’ Germany last Friday and he needed just 6 minutes to get himself on the score-sheet, while a resurgent Diego Costa also seems to be a step ahead of Morata at the moment in the Spanish pecking order

Morata also has stiff competition for a starting spot at Chelsea, with Olivier Giroud breathing down his neck, so he has all the motvation he needs, to finish the season strongly and guarantee his inclusion in that World Cup squad.

Hitting form against Spurs would be a good place to start but none of the Chelsea or Spurs players for that matter figure too highly in our GW32 Armband rankings, with Arsenal striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang topping the list.

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The Gabon international should be fresh for the Gunners’ home game with Stoke City and he makes plenty of appeal this weekend.

The record-chasing Mo Salah is sure to be popular but Livepool’s trip to Selhurst Park, where they will face relegation-threatened Crystal Palace, takes place just 4 days before the 1st leg of the Reds’ Champions League quarter-final tie with Manchester City.

Manchester United’s Romelu Lukaku also catches the eye with the Red Devils seemingly having a favourable home fixture against Swansea City.

However, the in-form striker has only netted one brace all season (in Gameweek 1) and has only scored and assisted on 2 other occasions. United’s inability to create genuine scoring chances remains a cause for concern, a fact that is highlighted by their meagre WhoScored average of 10 key passes per game.

Chelsea vs Spurs is the pick of the GW32 action – can the Blues secure a much-needed 3 points?