So far this season, Chelsea have used a back-three setup almost exclusively, even at the cost of playing players out of position — or having them learn and transition to new roles, like in the case of Pedro Neto doing a Victor Moses.
But after the debacle of the Spurs game — and thanks to a few injuries — we saw a back-four midweek against Liverpool in the League Cup. We also saw a three-man midfield in that game, after the pairing of Moisés Caicedo and Jordan Henderson got overrun by Spurs.
What will
Xabi Alonso choose today? We’ll find out soon enough. For the WAGNH Community, the answer is pretty clearly a back-four: 4-2-3-1 and 4-3-3 formations combined for over a two-thirds majority (66%) with the usual 3-4-3/3-4-2-1 collecting just 30 per cent of the vote.
In terms of personnel, there are also a few notable changes. At the back, we have a start for Marco Palestra, which is surely overdue, while Wesley Fofana (32%) comes nowhere near one.
In midfield, it’s Henderson who just beats out Roméo Lavia (52%) to partner Caicedo.
In attack, we get no recognized striker but Pedro Neto and Morgan Rogers have both seen time at the position, with varying degrees of success. Cole Palmer of course starts, while Estêvão just sneaks in, with Danny Welbeck (42%) and Emmanuel Emegha (28%) not quite able to collect enough votes.
4-2-3-1 (40%)
Penders (99%) | Chavarría (80%), Colwill (99%), Acheampong (98%), Palestra (72%) | Henderson (54%), Caicedo (99%) | Neto (62%), Palmer (98%), Estêvão (56%) | Rogers (94%)
