Chelsea are in a good run of form and look to have found out their best-balanced side under Frank Lampard this season. The Blues next play hosts to Sheffield United next in the Premier League, as Lampard will look to continue the winning streak. There will be a few changes made in Lampard’s Chelsea side from their last game in the Champions League, as Sheffield are a well-drilled side.
Kai Havertz and Christian Pulisic will be missing this game most likely, which will mean Lampard will give a chance to his fringe players. Havertz is out with the coronavirus and Pulisic hasn’t yet recovered from the injury he got while warming up for the Premier League game. Chris Wilder is a very smart manager and will try his best to keep Chelsea at bay and get a point at least at Stamford Bridge.
Let us now have a look at how Frank Lampard might set up his Chelsea side against Wilder’s Sheffield United in the Premier League.
THE 4-2-3-1
With Havertz and Pulisic out of the squad for the game against the Blades, Tammy Abraham is likely to lead the line for the Blues. This also means that Timo Werner will move into the left flank, where he played for most of his career at RB Leipzig. Mason Mount will start for Chelsea in such a system, at his favoured No.10 role, where w he will have the license to get into the box and not just create play.
Jorginho has done very well this season as he keeps the Chelsea side ticking and has also added to his tally of assists this season. But he will need defensive support around him, which will be the perfect role for Kante. The Frenchman thrives in a double pivot and can do the dirty work very well along with driving his team forward.
Hakim Ziyech is almost a surety on the right flank with the injury to Havertz, as the Moroccan international will look to cement his place in Chelsea.
THE 4-3-3
The 4-3-3 is a very similar system to the 4-2-3-1 but because it has only one holding midfielder, the full-backs need to be wary of leaving too much space in behind them. Jorginho is very weak defensively thus, Kante and Kovacic or Mount are likely to guard him and the backline in such a system. The advantage of this system is that Lampard has a perfect front three to execute it as Werner, Ziyech and Abraham make up an unpredictable combination.
Without Azpilicueta in the side, Thiago Silva will have to take control of the backline and the entire Chelsea side as well. He and Mendy have been Lampard’s finds of the season and the manager will hope to see even more out of them.
THE 3-4-3
The 3-4-3 is another option for Lampard, as Sheffield as also likely to go with such a formation with the centre-backs coming out with the ball. But the Blues have only used it in bigger games and the game against the Blades should be won with the 4-2-3-1 formation. To get all three points, Lampard’s men have to be wary of Sheffield’s scoring abilities and need to neutralize it as soon as possible.
