Chelsea face championship Luton Town in the FA Cup on Sunday, while Frank Lampard tries to put the season back on track. Winning a nostalgic trophy like the FA Cup would certainly not be a bad thing, especially after falling into the last hurdle last season, and with some of the great teams already eliminated.
THE PEOPLE’S CHOICE
It finally happened. The WAGNH community is fed up with 4-3-3 (37%), opting for 4-2-3-1 for the first time in some time, albeit by only a few percentage points. 4-4-2 (13%) and 3-4-3 (8%) receive a small amount of votes.
In the goalkeeper, Kepa Arrizabalaga arrives for the cup game in front of Édouard Mendy (30%). Willy Caballero (5%) and Petr Čech (3%) share the rest.
The defense sees a predictable reformulation with the four defenders of the last game, Thiago Silva (25%), Toni Rüdiger (39%), Reece James (40%) and Ben Chilwell (28%) make room for Andreas Christensen, Emerson, César Azpilicueta and Kurt Zouma. Unfortunately, Fikayo Tomori (7%) left; Marcos Alonso (10%) will probably also be on his way soon.
In the double pivot – memes, get together! – Billy Gilmour and Mason Mount anchor the midfield, while N’Golo Kanté (5%) remains out due to injury and Mateo Kovačić (33%) is discarded after a few underperforming performances. Jorginho (39%) may not be the preferred choice by the community, but it may be a realistic choice for Lampard.
A strong attack sees Kai Havertz play his favorite role No.10, with Callum Hudson-Odoi and Hakim Ziyech playing on either side of him. Christian Pulisic (36%) should get some rest here, while Tino Anjorin (28%) can leave the bench. Timo Werner leads the line ahead of Tammy Abraham (35%) and Olivier Giroud (9%).
4-2-3-1 (40%)
Arrizabalaga (63%) | Emerson (63%), Zouma (79%), Christensen (54%), Azpilicueta (62%) | Mount (42%), Gilmour (90%) | Hudson-Odoi (69%), Havertz (78%), Ziyech (58%) | Werner (72%)
MY FAVORITE CHOICE
I also took the opportunity to change the formation, as it seems clear that the three-man midfield is not working at the moment.
I made a change in the choice of the community, exchanging Jorginho for Monte. Mason has undoubtedly been one of Chelsea’s best players and deserves a rest here. The Gilmour-Jorginho partnership looks intriguing and should be more than capable of getting the job done, mainly because Luton is likely to be quiet.
You could make an argument for Anjorin to start ahead of any of the other names chosen by the community in the attack, but I’m happy anyway – “happy” is a somewhat ambiguous term for a Chelsea fan today.
4-2-3-1
Arrizabalaga | Emerson, Zouma, Christensen, Azpilicueta | Jorginho, Gilmour | Hudson-Odoi, Havertz, Ziyech | Werner