Frank Lampard should sort out his powerful first XI of this campaign as more players are recovering from their injuries to become available, and the fixtures are getting quite thicker. The Blues are going to face Tottenham Hotspurs on Sunday, Sevilla on Wednesday, Wolves, Everton and Arsenal as December continues.
Frank Lampard has an abundance of the player in all the stances – say it is in offence or defence. What are his decent options in several positions is still uncertain to the coach and it looks like it won’t be practical to keep everyone happy in the squad.
In all the competitions, Lampard’s team has been in an incredible run as they have stayed unbeaten despite missing star players. Although, he hasn’t chosen a definite system but has played reading the opposition and with backup strategies.
So, it is a slightly tough task regarding what the Chelsea coach is imagining to put out his starting XI against big clubs. But, consistently he has played few players and it is quite evident that those players have gained faith in the coach and very likely to get more minutes than the others.
This has been Frank Lampard’s preferred lineup during the six-match heated streak along with the minutes played in total:
The Goalkeeper: Mendy (540 minutes)
The Left-Back: Chilwell (496 minutes)
The Center-Back: Silva (338 mins), Zouma (540 mins)
The Right-Back: Reece James (361 mins)
The Central Midfield: Mateo Kovacic (336 mins), Kante (373 mins), Mount(447 mins).
The Left-Winger: Werner (522 mins)
The Center-Forward: Abraham(399 mins)
The Right Winger: Ziyech (420 mins)
The midfield has been very stable with Kante, Kovacic, Mount and Jorginho alternating and Havertz playing an attacking midfielder part when available. Mount has impressed considerably in absence of Havertz, who had to skip three games because of the protocols of COVID-19. But you can observe a few serious choices on the horizon.
What occurs when (or if) Pulisic is consistently available?
The left-Winger has been mainly stunning when healthy… though he is barely been healthy. But if he’s in form, does Frank Lampard deploy Werner mainly from the center again, accommodating the U.S. star on the flank, and guide Abraham to the bench?
What resulted in Hudson-Odoi in this scenario?
The 20-year old has a normal solid 0.42 anticipated goals and assists per 90 minutes for the comparison, Pulisic average 0.53 last season — and like a coming-up star.
What do you do with Giroud?
The 34-year-old once again displayed his importance on Tuesday against Rennes, arriving off the bench to thump in a game-winning header. He is itching for more minutes and for the obvious reason. He is still very decent. You can watch why Frank Lampard would want to maintain him around like a safety blanket, but it might not be a choice for much lengthier.
What is the nicest role for Havertz?
The 21-year-old has played 813 minutes thus far in his new club, 190 as a central midfielder, he has played 426 mins as a central attacking midfielder, 152 as a right attacking midfielder, and 45 as the centre forward. It is very great that he is so versatile, but what do you need most from him? Goals? Passing? Evolution into the attacking third? If you play him farther up the pitch, where he is most efficient that eliminates one of the favourite formations of Frank Lampard (4-3-3) that has looked very nice on the Blues from the equation.
These are the first world difficulties for Frank Lampard, to say the minor. Chelsea is very skilled and deep with attacking options, and that’s not something that numerous clubs can say. But starting Sunday, huge matches are on the horizon. In the terms of both style and personnel, we don’t actually know what Frank Lampard prefers, and we don’t know that Lampard recognizes, either.
