All the major European leagues in the world have condensed so as to keep a regular schedule in the upcoming years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Like most of the teams surviving in multiple competitions at the moment, Chelsea needs to prioritize their games in the early season as well.
Chelsea will play against a Russian club, Krasnodar in their group Champions League away match as they are at the bottom of the table with all the teams sharing 1 point each. The Blues coach, Frank Lampard will mostly hope to return home to England with a positive result in the Champions League group stage match after having three consecutive draws in all competitions.
It will be their fourth match in 11 days when the players will take the pitch in Russia on Wednesday. It will be interesting to watch which players will get the green signal to be in the starting XI as coach Lampard and his staff have not made any major changes to the starting XI throughout the previous few games.
Although some news articles have emerged where it is speculated that there will be significant changes in this game, it is yet to see what actually happens. Chelsea has earned a point with the mighty Sevilla in their first UCL match of this season but earning crucial points in these games must be a priority if they want to progress to the next rounds.
The upcoming game is the easiest in terms of competition but it can prove to be toughest looking at the journey the players have to make. Krasnodar is positioned in 8th place of their league with just 18 points from 12 games. The Russian squad is featuring for the first time in the Champions League and by far the team that no one is quite aware of.
But it seems like, Lampard is confident enough to put his B team and secure a likewise result. Moreover, looking at Chelsea’s current position in the Premier League, Squeezing three points from Burnley looks the most important thing to focus on for Lampard at the moment.
Last week, Frank Lampard used his 3-4-3 formation yet again and turned to his three trustable defenders at the back in a big match where they earned a point against Manchester United in the last game. Lampard’s boys kept a clean sheet yet again as the goalkeeper, Edouard Mendy’s performance hugely inspired them.
Chelsea has started the season with mixed results, but things should start firing on all cylinders if the club wants to achieve anything actually in this current campaign.
The Krasnodar match will be the 10th match of this current campaign for the west London club. The gaffer has experimented with various formations given his wide array of players in the attacking line. Most matches have seen the 4-2-3-1 formation turning back into the 4-3-3 formation, and as previously mentioned, big matches meant he will go for the 3-4-3 formation.
This formation although worked wonders against the top six clubs but has received criticism for sticking with it even after failing against the smaller clubs last season. It is still uncertain whether he has learned from his past mistake or not after taking the blame.
This is the actual point where the Blues must hold on to an established or proper identity which will ensure a proper pattern for the players to cope with the rhythm. Lampard must find the ideal formation for his team packed with attacking talents to make excellent progress. The coach has used the 4-2-3-1 formation in every match except two crucial face-offs.
If he thinks this formation to be suiting appropriately as per his plans, then his boys need to play in that formation for the following games. Failing which must ensure the coach to find his alternative formation as quickly as possible. Chelsea has games with Burnley, Rennes, and Sheffield United but they need to earnt he points against the unknown Krasnodar. The rotations in the squad will ensure if the game will be a nail-bitter or one-sided. This match can be the ideal one to see if his formation works or not!
