Chelsea: Four things to look for in the FA Cup semifinal vs Man United

3. Can Rashford, Martial and Greenwood be stopped?

Since the restart, Manchester United has been scoring for fun. Solskjaer seems to have finally landed on a front three of Marcus Rashford on the left, Mason Greenwood on the right and Anthony Martial in the middle. All three are almost perfectly interchangeable, and trying to keep tabs on everyone for a full match has proven impossible for just about every opponent they’ve faced.

That doesn’t bode particularly well for a Chelsea backline that is wobbly at the best of times. Frank Lampard recently discussed his team’s lack of verbal communication on the field, which could be an absolute death sentence against United’s dynamic front three. When Chelsea defends well, you would still hesitate to call it an organized performance; it’s usually successful in spite of its chaotic nature. The need to replace at least half of the current back line has been glaringly obvious all season, and Sunday could be the ultimate exposure of every little weakness we’ve seen this season.

That said, for all of the skill, pace, technique and cleverness in United’s attacking trio, Chelsea should at least have an advantage in the air. Chelsea has struggled against physical forwards all year, most recently Michail Antonio, Christian Benteke and David McGoldrick, but the Blues have faired relatively well against the smaller, more ground-bound strikers. Arguing that Chelsea can win a match by dominating defensive headers is an uphill battle, but there’s merit to it in this case.

With United’s attacking band backed by two excellent central midfielders in Pogba and Fernandes, United have fully invested themselves in playing a fairly narrow game. If Chelsea can force United to play through their fullbacks, the likes of Kurt Zouma and Antonio Rudiger should be able to win plenty of aerial duels. All bets are off when Harry Maguire comes up for set pieces, but the strategy could work in open play. If Chelsea stand any chance of keeping a clean sheet, it will probably be done by repelling United’s attempts to play through the middle.

Looking beyond the centerback pairing, Frank Lampard’s configuration of his fullbacks will have a major influence on how Chelsea’s defense tries to corral Rashford, Martial and Greenwood. It starts with which flank Cesar Azpilicueta lines up on. Going strictly on the man-to-man matchups, you’d probably prefer to see Azpilicueta marking Rashford, given his experience and athleticism. However, that means playing either Marcos Alonso or Emerson, neither of whom stand much of a chance of slowing down Mason Greenwood.

The other option is Azpilicueta on the left, and presumably Reece James on the right. James might have the physical traits to cope with Rashford, but experience leans heavily in favor of the latter. Azpilicueta would be able to handle Greenwood on the opposite flank, but his experience is probably better used elsewhere.

There’s also the radical choice, which would be a back three, with James and Alonso as wingbacks. On paper, that seems like the most promising option, and it would certainly surprise Solskjaer, but it’s not something that Lampard has trotted out recently, apart from the dead rubber of a second half against Sheffield United. If ever there was a time to try something wild, it would be here, in a match where the opposing attackers are likely to easily overwhelm Chelsea’s usual back four.