If Conte rates Alonso, he wouldn't have sabotaged Ake's progress for no reason. Conte cannot straightaway bench Alonso, because Alonso was his buy after all. It will take time. Alonso is the weakest link in that team and could very well jeopardize our surge / stay on top of the table. Moses is no exception, it will be the rule in our system & with our other exceptional players. Even wind cannot break Matic+Kante. No reason for our Defense to worry, except Alonso.
I think Ake coming back was probably about his lack of faith in Alonso's back up rather than Alonso himself; but time will tell I guess. I think all Ake's loan spell did was to put him further up the pecking order than he was in August. I'd be absolutely amazed if Alonso was dropped at any point this season. Ditto the rest of the defence. Zouma may push for a few starts but with his time out, it will be tough to justify his inclusion save for injuries/suspensions. But I certainly think Ake is knocking at the door to some extent. Aina and Kenedy are certainly not though.
As i tipped us to win the league ages ago,i can't knock any of our players. We're doing great.Conte is a great manager,make no mistake about that,if he sees a way of improving/adding to our squad i'm sure he will.Maybe Alonso and Moses are not the greatest defenders,but they both get forward well and both have goals in them and i'm sure they'll both improve.Anyway matic and Kante start every game for a reason.
Yup, keep it tight. If it looks like we are having the lions share of possession but are struggling to break down the opposition, then Off comes Matic and on goes Cesc, for some extra Incision play.