Chelsea will play host to Sheffield United in the FA Cup quarterfinals this weekend and by the looks of it, Olivier Giroud is once again going to watch from the bench.
Giroud remained an unused sub in the 2-0 win over Atletico Madrid last week but everyone was hoping the Frenchman will get to start up front vs the Blades. But now that Tammy Abraham is back to full fitness, the England international could be selected in the line-up on Sunday.
When Thomas Tuchel was asked but the recent omissions of Olivier Giroud from the starting line-up, the manager chose to give a very diplomatic answer, something which clearly hints at the fact that the World Cup winner is not going to play from the start on Sunday.
‘I think Oli can have a huge impact on our team because he has the experience, the physical presence and the ruthlessness in the box,’ Tuchel said, as quoted by the club’s official website. ‘This is his style of football and he has been very successful for many years.
‘He has suffered in the last four games or so and I’m not sure I can be totally happy with my team management in the games against Southampton and Leeds. I felt that perhaps these were matches he could have featured for 20 or 25 minutes.
‘So it’s my fault. He is training really well, he made a decisive goal against Atletico and I assumed the games against Everton and Liverpool would be high intensity games where we could use more speed.
‘It is my job to push him and give him the feeling that he is still important and important for me, which he is. So the game on Sunday is important.
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‘The international break is good for Oli to keep his head in the clouds and enjoy this moment with us.’
Olivier Giroud has netted four goals in 14 Premier League games this season which is actually a better return rate than Tammy Abraham. And even in the first few matches under the new Chelsea boss, Giroud was able to make a positive impression.
He also scored the crucial goal vs Atletico Madrid in the first leg of the Champions League Round of 16 and everyone was certain that he will get more gametime after that particular performance. But since then, he has featured in only one match(against Man United when he played 65 odd minutes) and for the rest of the games, he has been on the bench.
With Abraham back to full fitness, Thomas Tuchel is likely to use him as the centre-forward on Sunday meaning Olivier Giroud might have to be content with yet another substitutes performance.
