Chelsea host Leeds United in their next Premier League clash at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, 4 March. Last Word on Football tries to put together the Chelsea Predicted Lineup as the Blues aim to get back to winning ways and put an end to a six-game winless streak.
Chelsea Predicted Lineup vs Leeds United
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— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) March 2, 2023
How Chelsea Have Lined-up Recently
Graham Potter has undergone a tumultuous period as Chelsea manager over the last month or so. Whatever he tries ends up resulting in disappointment. With a lot of fans wanting him to be sacked, the pressure is definitely on the Englishman to turn things around at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea have made a lot of changes to their starting XI over the last few weeks in the hunt for a winning combination. At this point, goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga seems the only one guaranteed to start every game – with Edouard Mendy injured. However, full-backs Reece James and Ben Chilwell have performed well in recent works to make themselves important members of the team.
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January record signing Enzo Fernandez has also maintained consistency with his solid performances and Joao Felix has arguably been the most exciting thing about their attack since joining. Apart from that, however, everyone else seems rotatable at this moment. Potter will switch things around for the Leeds game – with the underperformers from the 2-0 loss to Tottenham like Hakim Ziyech (who was labelled as ‘incredible’ by Morocco coach Walid Regragui during the World Cup), Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Kalidou Koulibaly at risk of dropping out.
Chelsea Recent Form and Tactics
The Blues have played 11 games since the season resumed after the World Cup break. Out of this, they have only won twice. They’ve also lost their last three successive games in all competitions, including a loss at home to Premier League relegation dwellers Southampton.
A major storm is brewing at Stamford Bridge and if he isn’t careful, then Potter is at risk of being blown away by it. Fortunately for him, new owner Todd Boehly is a really patient individual who is ready to give him more time to fix the mess in the club.
Potter has seemingly been persisting with a 4-2-3-1 system for Chelsea in the last few weeks, knowing that the three-at-the-back formation isn’t working with the current squad. He’s likely to persist with that but will need the individuals to do their jobs perfectly.
That includes the defence being more assertive and sturdier than usual – that too with no Thiago Silva at the helm. This means the new signing, Benoit Badiashile, will need to take control alongside Wesley Fofana, who appears to be over his injury issues. Even the full-backs in Reece and Chilwell need to work double-time to ensure Leeds can create a lot of chances through the wings.
More than anything else, however, Chelsea needs to make major improvements in the final third. They’ve not scored a goal in three games – which is unacceptable after spending a fortune on eight new signings in January. Felix has been a very exciting player with his dribbling ability, including his link-up play and the final product – but he’s getting very little help.
Read More: Chelsea Renews Interest in Josko Gvardiol Signing
Even Enzo tends to work overtime in regaining possession and then delivering clutch passes into the final third – but only to no avail. The new boy from Shakhtar Donetsk, Mykhailo Mudryk, has been relatively underwhelming so far. While his ability to burst past players is unquestioned, the Ukrainian winger has to be much better with his final passes and more clinical with his finishing. Similarly, Raheem Sterling also has to make use of his experience to finish off chances better than he’s been this season.
Potter will have to motivate his front four to start working as a well-oiled machine and trust in each other’s ability to get the best out of one another. Chelsea have to be much faster with moving the ball forward, with the full-backs needing to overlap and provide more creative threats through the wings too. Up-front, Kai Havertz has looked clueless and needs to snap out of his slumber to start finishing the chances more accurately than he has this season.
Chelsea can’t be satisfied with controlling possession and then slowly building into the attack. More of their attacking players has to assume responsibility for moving the ball around the opposition box swiftly and then create multiple major chances to break their goal drought. But if they’re just as sloppy and error-prone as they’ve been in recent weeks, another rude awakening might be on the horizon at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea Injuries to Consider
Thiago Silva is out for this game after picking up an injury in the loss to Spurs last week. Cesar Azpilicueta and Christian Pulisic are also out with injuries, while Edouard Mendy and Armando Broja are out for the season. N’Golo Kante could make his return to action for the first time since August after returning to training recently.
Chelsea Predicted Lineup
Kepa Arrizabalaga, Reece James, Wesley Fofana, Benoit Badiashile, Ben Chilwell, Enzo Fernandez, Mateo Kovacic, Raheem Sterling, Joao Felix, Mykhailo Mudryk, Kai Havertz
