Chelsea are taking the unusual step of playing a preseason game close to home against domestic opposition. Here are a few things to watch for in Sunday’s trip to Reading.
Chelsea have a few days to train in their actual training ground before heading back on the road to finish their preseason tour in Europe. Frank Lampard still has a few decisions to make about who will stay in his squad and who will be where in the depth chart, and those lead our list of what to look for.
1. Matchday squad will reveal the latest cull
Lampard went for a complete turnover between his starting XI and his finishing XI in the first four preseason games, with the exception Willy Caballero and David Luiz going 90 minutes against Kawasaki Frontale and Kepa Arrizabalaga logging a complete game against Barcelona. Lampard spaced out his substitutions in the two games in Japan, as opposed to the halftime wholesale changes in Ireland, reflecting the players’ fitness and his developing preferences.
Kasey Palmer was the only outfield player in the squad against Barcelona who did not take the pitch. Loan rumours surged yesterday afternoon, but they did not agree on whether Swansea City or Bristol City won the race. He looks likely to go to or very close to Wales, but not much else looks settled.
Fikayo Tomori is supposedly assured of a loan to a top-tier team, but no specific teams have been mooted. Lampard knows Tomori well enough from last season at Derby County that he may not need to see much more from Tomori, which would free up those minutes for players competing for the starting XI. On the other hand, Lampard could use Tomori to minimize the workload on the centrebacks since this is a position where the team seem most settled.
For these remaining few games Lampard will want to see the players about whom he has decisions to make. If he has already made up a mind about a player he has no reason to keep that player around. Anyone who was in Japan but not at Medejski Stadium tomorrow has the loan army in their near future.
2. Remaining battles for positions
Fikayo Tomori’s departure is less about his abilities, per se, and more about the bottleneck of experienced players ahead of him in the depth chart. If not for each of Antonio Rudiger, Kurt Zouma, Andreas Christensen and (grumble) David Luiz, Tomori would be in the squad and fighting for the best XI.
Chelsea have a few other intrasquad competitions that will determine the remaining loan or transfer business.
Tiemoue Bakayoko is fighting himself as well as the other midfielders for a place in the squad. The Blues have a solid midfield corps without him. He needs to show Lampard how he can supplement them without being surplus. If not, and with Paris Saint-Germain shifting their interest to Idrissa Gueye, Bakayoko may find himself staring down the prospect of a season at Everton.
Bakayoko’s main competition is Danny Drinkwater, who has the advantage of being a homegrown player. If neither can pull ahead on form, Drinkwater will take the edge via administrative quotas.
Kenedy has played more minutes than anyone else this preseason. He seems optimistic and Lampard spoke highly of him.
Part of his battle is figuring out where he would play. The Blues need some options at left-back, but that is the position that ended his last spell with the club. He is far too similar to Emerson (lots of speed that does nothing if they don’t use it to track back) to keep around for defensive reasons, but the Blues have enough winger options that they don’t need Kenedy any more than they need Bakayoko.
3. Continue developing 4-2-3-1 or try something else?
After using three formations in the first two games, Frank Lampard seems to be driving in on the 4-2-3-1 as his main formation heading into the season. The players showed tweaks and variations on the set-up against Barcelona, suggesting Lampard is building their confidence and decision-making abilities in it.
The 4-2-3-1 aligns well with the players Chelsea have available, and Lampard is very familiar with it from his playing days. However, Lampard has said the team need as many options as possible going into the season, so they will have to maintain their proficiency and try some new variations on the 4-diamond-2 over the next three games.
It would be very surprising if Lampard did not try a three-man defence at any point in the preseason. The Blues have the centrebacks and wing-backs for it, many of the players are very familiar with it and the youth players and Jody Morris, in particular, have the 3-4-3 in their DNA.
Reading are the only English opposition Chelsea will face this preseason, and they are more stereotypically English than ever with their recent signing of Charlie Adam. They will be the Blues’ best opportunity to test themselves against the style, culture and physicality they will encounter weekly in the Premier League.
Despite the gap in quality between Reading and Chelsea’s other remaining opponents, this will be a chance to see how the different formations and tactics work against the broad characteristics of domestic opposition.