I was very surprised to see Mauricio Pochettino start with a back three against Liverpool on Sunday, very surprised.
This is because he has been largely training with a back four and then going through an unbeaten pre-season using a back four. His preferred formation throughout his managerial career has always been the 4-2-3-1.
I had been very encouraged by what I saw from this setup in pre-season, but I can only assume he setup in a back three in order to protect Thiago Silva and also reacting to a strong opposition. But I think we might now be seeing Poch and Chelsea working towards a new formation.
IF Chelsea sign Romeo Lavia AS WELL as Moises Caicedo and Poch wants both players in his starting Xl more often that not, then really a 4-3-3 formation might be the best line-up to use.
Lavia would be the natural sitter, with Enzo Fernandez and Caicedo ahead playing as the 8s. We have already seen that they want Enzo further forward, which is something I have also all been calling for. Even in the Liverpool game it was Conor Gallagher who was the deepest of the two. So a 4-3-3 would see that.
He could go with a 4-2-3-1 of course but that would see Enzo playing as a 10 and although I think Enzo would play well in any position, I think he would be much more useful in the 8 rather than the 10.
Then there is the possibly of continuing with the back three, but if we used a 3-4-2-1 like what we saw on Sunday, then that would not fit Caicedo, Enzo, and Lavia perfectly either. So it would have to be a 3-1-4-2 and of course, we lack suitable centre forward options to play two up top. A 3-1-4-1-1 could work though and using a number 10.
So really, IF, and it’s still a big IF at this point, we do end up landing Lavia as well as Caicedo, I can only see us using a 4-3-3 as the go-to starting Xl if we want Lavia to play more often than not.
I think Silva can still play well in a back four by the way, I don’t buy this whole he can’t play in a back four thing. But with that said, I don’t think when everyone is fit that he will be starting too much anyway.
Personally I always prefer a back four if given the choice, but I understand the benefits of a back three and also, it’s important to be flexible and be able to change formations mid-game and also be able to perfect a number of different formations. That’s very important.
But my favourite formation is a 4-3-3, but we all know that you need a defensive midfielder to play that that way and defensive stability. So with Caicedo and hopefully Lavia coming in, we would certainly have that. Andrey Santos could also compete with Lavia for that role in there. Carney Chukwuemeka for me is also a better 8 than a 10.
But we have to see what happens, because Chelsea are also targeting players for the 10 role, and when Christopher Nkunku comes back, we all know that is his best position.
So in the words of the kids, what IS Poch and the club cooking here!? It will all become much clearer come the end of the window and we see our final full squad! Exciting times.
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