A lot of things have changed at Chelsea since Thomas Tuchel arrived, but one thing has remained constant – the German coach’s preference for a back 3.
That looked set to continue this summer with the signings of Marc Cucurella, Kalidou Koulibaly and Wesley Fofana at the back all pointing towards a commitment to that system.
But the bad results we’ve had so far, plus the injury to N’Golo Kante, seems to have triggered a rethink. We’re not sure what to make of the XI he’s put out today, but it’s hard to see it as the 343/442 we’ve had in recent weeks.
https://twitter.com/ChelseaFC/status/1566048431583404033
Wesley Fofana, Thiago Silva and Kalidou Koulibaly are all in the team as central defenders. Marc Cucurella is at left back, and Reece James on the right. So far so good.
In midfield, there’s Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Conor Gallagher and Mateo Kovacic, an interesting trio.
That leaves a front 2 of Christian Pulisic and Raheem Sterling. Or is Conor Gallagher playing out wide? Or is RLC playing out wide? Or is it a 442?
We will have to wait for the teams to be out on the pitch before we really know.
Interested with a woodwork band saw blade