Chelsea: It’s time to break out the 3-4-3 in the FA Cup

Chelsea has tried—and failed—to beat Manchester United on three separate occasions this season, so it’s time for a change.

Manchester United has had Chelsea’s number this season, there’s no ifs, ands or buts about it. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and his team are coming into the FA Cup semifinal on a remarkable unbeaten streak of 19 matches. This has the Blues on edge for not only this match, but in the race for a Champions League spot, as well.

Chelsea has lost three games to United this season—one of those losses being a part of United’s current run—so, Frank Lampard’s side isn’t going to go down without a fight for a fourth time. Something clearly needs to change as the west Londoners have failed to beat their rivals to the north at all this season. A formation change and a shift in the tactics gives the Blues the best shot at advancing to the final.

The three-at-the-back approach has worked for Chelsea a few times this campaign, most notably against Jose Mourinho’s Tottenham. Deploying a 3-4-3 formation allows Chelsea the opportunity to sit back and absorb pressure, while hitting opponents on the counter. Marcos Alonso and Reece James have had their troubles in defense as of late, so allowing them to go forward knowing they have defensive assistance to steady the sinking ship isn’t the worst idea.

This formation would offset the tactics of Solskjaer and strengths of his team, evening out the match a little bit and knocking the Red Devils out of their comfort zone. Numerous opponents have had success against United this way throughout the last few months—Wolves, Spurs and Everton being the most recent. Those sides sat back and forced United to be on the ball for a majority of the match, frustrating the counter-attacking side. In those three matches, United scored a total of two goals.

With N’Golo Kante absent for the match, Lampard is left scratching his head when figuring out who to play at the base of the midfield. Playing a two-man central midfield alleviates the gaffer’s pains a bit as Mateo Kovacic and Mason Mount provide pace and awareness in the middle of the park. Further, it saves Lampard from playing Jorginho, who has been a liability as of late. The Italian international has slowed down play in the Blues’ last two matches, so deploying him in a counter-attacking side is a death sentence.

The 3-4-3 puts a lot of pressure on a front three, so the normal convoy will trot out. The trio of Olivier Giroud, Christian Pulisic and Willian bring a healthy mix of pace, experience and strength to the table. They will be expected to shoulder a lot of the work on counter attacks; given their recent form, gambling on them to be successful is a safe bet.

Lining up in a different formation is a calculated risk for Lampard. On one hand, the Blues have three massive matches remaining and tactical shifts can cause confusion. However, something needs to change. With limited personnel to choose from, Chelsea’s young manager has to do something distinct.

What formation do you believe the Blues should line up in? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter!