Chelsea legend Gus Poyet, in an exclusive Sports Mole interview, has questioned Xabi Alonso's decision not to start one particular Blues player more often.

The West London giants went into the international break on a sour note, having suffered a shock 1-0 loss to Sunderland in their 10th Premier League clash of the campaign.

Chelsea lie outside the top four spots in the Premier League table as a result, two points adrift of Liverpool in the final guaranteed Champions League spot and 11 behind leaders Arsenal.

Alonso deployed a midfield trio of Romeo Lavia, Moises Caicedo and Jordan Henderson to no effect at the Stadium of Light; the former two completed the full 90 minutes, while Henderson was replaced in the 87th.

However, Lavia still put in a tidy display, completing 93% of his passes and making seven recoveries, following up his stellar performance and assist against Manchester United the week before.

Lavia has largely been a second-string player with Caicedo and Henderson fully fit, though, and Poyet has been left confused at Alonso's decision to sometimes snub the Belgian.

Chelsea: Gus Poyet questions Xabi Alonso's Romeo Lavia decision

"I really like him, and I don't know why he doesn't play more," Poyet told Sports Mole via NetBet, one of the best Boku betting sites. "As a coach, you're very specific about certain things, and perhaps there are things he doesn't do that Xabi Alonso wants his two midfielders to do.

"That might explain why he has been picking Caicedo and Henderson, but it's difficult for us to know exactly what's happening behind the scenes. I think Lavia has been impressive."

Lavia signed for Chelsea from Southampton in the summer of 2023 but has suffered from a plethora of injury problems during his three years at Stamford Bridge, missing a staggering 122 games for club and country in all tournaments.

However, the 22-year-old has thus far managed to consign his fitness woes to the past in 2026-27, making 10 appearances across all competitions and managing one goal and one assist in the process.

Does Xabi Alonso really prefer Caicedo, Henderson to Lavia?

Lavia has started over 50% of Chelsea's Premier League games this season - six from 10 - although largely when either Caicedo and/or Henderson was unavailable to Alonso.

The Belgian was selected in each of Chelsea's first four games, all of which Henderson missed with the arm fracture he sustained at the World Cup, while Caicedo came off the bench in just one of them due to injuries of his own.

Lavia then did not start any of Chelsea's games against Brentford, Bournemouth, Everton and Tottenham Hotspur; conversely, Henderson started all four, and Caicedo three.

The ex-Southampton man was brought back into the XI against Man United, but Henderson missed the clash with the Red Devils due to illness, before Alonso's failed Lavia/Henderson/Caicedo experiment against Sunderland. 

As Joao Pedro should return from injury shortly after the international break, Lavia may very well have to accept more of a backup role towards the end of the year if Caicedo and Henderson steer clear of injury and illness.