Enzo Maresca has defended his policy of rotation after the Chelsea head coach was criticised for making seven changes during the Blues' 2-2 draw with Qarabag in the Champions League.
Chelsea have made 85 changes in 16 matches across all competitions this season, with Maresca looking to rotate his squad after an intensive start to the new season.
The summer Club World Cup meant Chelsea had less than two weeks to prepare for the start of the Premier League season, and Maresca's side have struggled to keep players fit, with Romeo Lavia the latest injury concern after coming off against Qarabag.
Maresca's constant chopping and changing, particularly in defence, has led to claims that Chelsea look imbalanced and lack fluency, with Wayne Rooney saying that captain Reece James should address the situation with his manager.
Maresca, though, defended his policy and said injuries had played a part in his side's inconsistent start to the season.
We have Caicedo, Fernandez, Neto and Joao Pedro who are not training every day
"I think, first of all, at the beginning of the season, with Levi's [Colwill] injury, for sure we lost, I said many times, in my view, in the way we wanted to play, our best defender, in terms of build-up," Maresca said in his pre-match press conference.
"From there, we tried to find solutions. We tried to solve problems. We tried to adjust things. We were playing with three at the back in build-up. We started to play with two at the back in four or five games.
"We tried to find solutions, different solutions. Last game, we kept a clean sheet with Trev [Chalobah] and Wes [Fofana]. They just said to me this morning that last year, after 11 Premier League games, we had two clean sheets. This season, after 10 games, we have already four clean sheets."
Lavia's injury, the latest in a string of fitness problems for the Chelsea midfielder, meant that Moises Caicedo had to be brought on when ordinarily Maresca would have rested the Ecuadorian.
Caicedo, who has been playing through injury, also had to be brought off the bench against Wolves in the Carabao Cup, and Maresca admitted he was frustrated that he could not give the 24-year-old a break.
"Absolutely, yes [it's a problem not being able to rest Caicedo], when you have a chance to rotate also,” Maresca continued. “And the other day, I think we said already, two or three times, that we have Caicedo, we have Enzo Fernandez, we have Pedro Neto, we have Joao Pedro, that they are all players that are not training every day, because of small issues.
"So, if we are able to give them some time off, rest, it's better. But in this moment, you see, Moi, the other day, after five minutes, he was on the pitch.
"In the past, we used Andrey Santos as a No6. In the past, we also used Josh [Acheampong] as a No6. And Reece is playing as a No6. But when you have more options, it's better."
Chelsea have struggled to build momentum this season, despite being expected to push on after their Club World Cup victory in July.
The Blues have won just five of their opening 10 Premier League games, but Maresca said he was not concerned despite rising expectations regarding his team.
"I think we tried to win all the games. Also, I can understand that this season, the expectation has risen around the team," Maresca continued.
"Again, last year, after 11 games, I think we had 19 points. If we are able to win tomorrow, we have more points this season compared to last season.
"So, do we have consistency or not? The big difference for me, personally, from this season and last season, is the expectation around the team.
“Because the numbers are there and we can be even better than last season. But because the expectation has risen, it's obviously a big difference."
