How much will Chelsea miss Fernandez against Man City?
· Yahoo Sports
As things stand, Chelsea will go into one of their most challenging, and potentially pivotal, matches of the Premier League season so far without one of their key players.
Enzo Fernandez's comments about his future at the club over the international break "crossed a line" according to Liam Rosenior, and the £107m midfielder will sit out Sunday's visit of Manchester City after also missing the FA Cup victory against Port Vale.
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Chelsea's vice-captain has only missed one Premier League game all season - against Nottingham Forest in October with a knee problem - and has started in all but one of his 30 appearances.
The 25-year-old has scored eight goals and registered three assists in the league and, as recently as January, Chelsea reporter Nizaar Kinsella wrote about how he "has established himself as one of, if not the, most important players in Chelsea's attack".
Several key metrics illustrate how much the Blues rely on his comfort in possession.
Fernandez has made more passes that have broken the opposition's defensive line than any player in the Premier League this season (41) and has also completed the most successful lay-offs (73).
His 36 line-breaking passes into the opposition's penalty area is a joint-high with Manchester United's Bruno Fernandes, while the Portuguese playmaker is the only player in the division (33) to make more than the Chelsea man's 21 through balls.
He is also in the top six in the Premier League for passes ending in the final third (595), passes in the opposition half (1,048), and chances created including assists (51).
Should there be no reversal of the decision to leave Fernandez out of the match, it would remove a key cog in Chelsea's creativity both in build-up and in the final third and leave a significant hole for Rosenior to fill, against a City team which appears brimming with confidence.
Last weekend's 7-0 demolition of Port Vale has shown the Blues can create in Fernandez's absence, but nobody is in any doubt that City will provide an entirely different challenge.
All stats provided by Opta.