Chelsea will face Southampton in their next fixture in the Premier League as the Londoners will expect to come away with all three points. Frank Lampard will not be happy with how Chelsea have played lately, losing from Tottenham in the Carabao Cup and drawing with West Brom. Coming back from the international break, the players will hope to put together more cohesive performances than they have done in the recent past.
Chelsea have some good news and a bit of bad news as well, as Ziyech and Pulisic are back in training but Eduardo Mendy will be out. It will be expected of Kepa to start against Southampton and Marcos Alonso might well start with Ben Chilwell a doubt. Lampard’s new signings haven’t hit the ground running yet, which might be a concern for the former Chelsea midfielder.
Let us now have a look at how Chelsea might lineup against Southampton in the Premier League this weekend.
THE 4-2-3-1
Lampard has used the 4-2-3-1 system a lot this season, as this formation and system gives the team a perfect balance. The double-pivot is crucial in such a system and it will be hard to drop Jorginho out for Lampard, especially with the form he is in. Knowing Lampard, he will never drop Mason Mount from the team as well because the Englishman provides drive to the team.
The defence will again have to be shuffled as Ben Chilwell is likely to miss the game, which would mean Azpilicueta might have to play as left-back. Tammy Abraham has a good chance of starting this game as Lampard isn’t keen on playing Werner alone up top. Lampard has liked to use Werner’s pace along the left-wing, where he looks more comfortable than the centre-forward position.
THE 4-3-3
The 4-3-3 is very similar to a 4-2-3-1, as the former is how a team looks like in the attacking transition. Such a system might see both Kante and Kovacic in the midfield, or might even see Mount drop to the midfield. The centre-forward role is another cause of headache for Lampard, as he signed Werner to play up-front, which he hasn’t been able to do so far.
The link-up between Tammy Abraham and Kai Havertz has looked pleasing to the eye on and both might link up again tomorrow. The young Germans have found it difficult to adjust to the Premier League but it will be foolish to bet against them to succeed, looking at their potential. In such a system, Lampard will most likely go for Azpilicueta as his left-back as Alonso is poor as a left-back in a four-man defence.
THE 3-4-3
The 3-4-3 is another system Frank Lampard has used at Chelsea to great success, but he has only used it against strong oppositions. It is unlikely for him to go for this system against the Saints, who haven’t been in great form lately. Despite all the injuries and doubts, Chelsea will be expected to win this game with ease, and any other result will only throw caution to the wind.
