Balancing act proves tough for Hodgson and Poch

THE balance of youth and experience is an important thing in football - and neither Chelsea nor Crystal Palace have got it quite right.

- Dom Smith

Tonight's meeting at Selhurst Park brings together two teams caught at different ends of that spectrum, but both must move closer to the middle ground.

Chelsea's challenge is establishing enough leaders in their young team.

Since the summer of 2022, the Blues have spent more than £1billion on a great number of players unproven at the highest level, almost all of them under the age of 25.

The average age of the team that beat Aston Villa 3-1 in last Wednesday's FA Cup fourth-round replay was just 22.8, and Chelsea's is the youngest squad in the Premier League.

Head coach Mauricio Pochettino has come in for criticism from sections of the club's fanbase in recent weeks, and the challenge he faces is enabling his inexperienced team to gather momentum and produce consistent results.

"[It is] time to be consistent", Pochettino said. "The way we approached the Aston Villa game is the way we need to approach [every] game." Thiago Silva, 39, is Chelsea's oldest firstteam regular by a decade, but his woeful display in the 4-2 defeat at Wolves saw him dropped against Villa, and his game-time could be limited in the second half of the season.