In a run of poor form, Chelsea haven’t been able to get wins under their belt recently and have suffered several poor defeats. The Blues have been lacklustre without Hakim Ziyech as the creativity seems to be lost from the Chelsea side with the injury to the Moroccan. Frank Lampard will need to take a long and hard look at his side and implement some changes as they host Manchester City next.
Manchester City have themselves been highly inconsistent this season but are slowly gathering momentum in the Premier League. Frank Lampard will have to find a way out to get the best of Chelsea to have any chance of winning the game. We are expected to see quite a few changes in the Blues side as they will look to keep the poor run of form behind them.
Let us now have a look at how Frank Lampard might set his Chelsea side out against Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City.
THE 4-3-3
The 4-3-3 has been Lampard’s most famous and successful system and formation at Chelsea in the past couple of years. But lately, the system hasn’t been worth it as the midfielders have barely created anything for the forwards. Timo Werner and Kai Havertz haven’t been able to stamp their authority in the squad, as both of them haven’t been able to score for above 10 games.
The likes of Mateo Kovacic and Hakim Ziyech are badly needed to steady the ship in the midfield for Chelsea as they bring in the drive. N’Golo Kante has returned to his prime best but needs the other midfielders to step up and create. The front three haven’t also been at their best as only Giroud has been successful to score consistently, even though Pulisic has been good lately.
The defence also needs to have a good look at themselves as they have given way too many cheap goals in the last couple of months.
THE 4-2-3-1
The 4-2-3-1 is another system that has been very successful for Chelsea this season and Lampard might revert back to this system in the weekend. The midfield pivot should have Mateo Kovacic and Kante in it, which will give Chelsea a great platform to build from. The likes of Chilwell and Azpilicueta can bomb forward in such a system with the pivot in the midfield.
Kai Havertz will be expected to make it to the starting XI in such a system with the No.10 position. The German hasn’t been able to do well at Chelsea, but he hasn’t been played at his favourite position as well. Callum Hudson-Odoi is likely to be chosen on the right-wing position as he has done well whenever he has been called into action.
THE 3-4-3
The 3-4-3 will always be an option for Chelsea whenever the club has played against better teams in the past couple of years. Manchester City just might be the game where Lampard brings back this system in order to soak the pressure and hit on the break. The game will surely be difficult for Chelsea but they will surely try to give their best and put out a fight against Guardiola’s side.
