🔗 Share this article

Forward Liam Delap is coming back from a thigh problem at a important period for Chelsea.

The West London club lost 2-1 against unexpected challengers Sunderland at their home ground on recently, with manager Enzo Maresca citing "a lack of creativity" and his team's delivery being "not the best".

Chelsea's strikers are struggling for goals and assists as Delap makes his comeback in the EFL Cup against struggling Wolves on midweek (evening kickoff), having missed 10 games since sustaining the injury in the victory over Fulham in August.

Maresca commented the 22-year-old will be gradually introduced "slowly", and the summer signing's return is crucial for a team facing questions over their unpredictability, which has left the cup competitions their primary hope of securing honors this term.

Delap to Ease Burden On Joao Pedro

Chelsea signed Delap from the Tractor Boys for a £30 million fee despite interest from Manchester United, the Magpies and Everton.

Yet the young English striker was behind £55 million acquisition Joao Pedro in the pecking order at this summer's Club World Cup - and with valid cause.

Joao Pedro scored three goals in three matches as Chelsea won the inaugural tournament in the USA. The Brazil striker scored another two and three setups in his opening quartet of league fixtures after joining from Brighton.

More lately, however, Joao Pedro has been goalless in his past seven matches. Maresca stated he is one of three squad members - along with engine room operators Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo - who at the moment demand to be "protected".

When queried about Joao Pedro's drop in output, Maresca remarked: "Certainly the fitness aspect is vital. When you are not fully fit it's challenging to excel, notably in this league."

"Joao Pedro is not a number nine that is going to reach twenty strikes annually. Joao's a fantastic player, he's going to get goals and give assists but he's a different kind of nine to ones that score 20 to 25 goals every season like [Robert] Lewandowski, the French superstar or the City striker."

Broader Issues in Chelsea's Forward Line

Chelsea confront broader problems in addition to their strikers and Joao Pedro's drought.

Winger Cole Palmer has completed two games all season and is unlikely to be back from a lower body issue until next month.

Winger Jamie Bynoe-Gittens, signed from Borussia Dortmund for a potential £52 million deal, has no goals and one goal contribution in ten games. Alejandro Garnacho, a £40m acquisition from Manchester United, has a single strike in seven games and forced an own goal against Benfica.

Estevao Willian, 18, has shown promise since joining from Palmeiras for a potential £51 million deal, but has only two goals and a single assist - equaling academy forward Tyrique George.

Attacker Marc Guiu and loan signing Facundo Buonanotte have one goal each.

Marc Cucurella, who notched seven from left-back last campaign, is yet to find the net this term. Wide man Pedro Neto has one goal and two assists in his past two matches, but before that got only one goal in the opening ten matches.

After thirteen games in various cups no striker has more than two goals, with midfielders Fernandez and Caicedo Chelsea's equal leading marksmen with four.

Queried whether a lack of natural goalscorers means duties need distributing, Maresca said: "Certainly, yes. We frequently mentioned that the five players at the front, we need six, seven, eight, nine, 10 goals each, in the manner we achieved last campaign."

Maresca has found ways to challenge despite goal-scoring variability. Chelsea are second for dead-ball situations in the English top division, one less than Arsenal. In moreover, the Stamford Bridge side are the pioneering side to have ten distinct net-finders in the first division this season.

Will Chelsea's Number Nine Curse Be Broken?

Some Chelsea fans think the number nine shirt - claimed by Delap in the summer - is jinxed. It had been vacant since recently, and footballers who donned it since 2006 have struggled for goals, including:

• Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (2022-23) - a trio of scores in 21 games
• Romelu Lukaku (2021-22) - 15 goals in 58 appearances
• Tammy Abraham (2019-20, 2021-22) - 30 goals in eighty-two matches
• Gonzalo Higuain (2018-19) - five strikes in 19 appearances
• Alvaro Morata (2017-18) - twenty-four strikes in seventy-two matches
• Radamel Falcao (2015-16) - a single strike in twelve matches
• Fernando Torres (2010-11, 2014-15): 45 goals in one hundred seventy-two matches
• Franco di Santo (2008-10) - no goals in 16 games
• Steve Sidwell (2007-08) - a single strike in twenty-five matches
• Khalid Boulahrouz (2006-07) - zero strikes in twenty matches

A engine room operator and defender are included in this group, and some would suggest Abraham lifted the hoodoo with his achievement, while iconic forwards such as Peter Osgood and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink flourished with the number nine.

But Delap was unconcerned when asked about the curse. "I'm not one [who believes in curses]," he stated at the international tournament.

"In the final analysis it's a digit on the shirt of your uniform. It's just a figure that has historically been connected to strikers so it's something that I enjoy and there's no pressure."