Plus or minus three, Chelsea and Frank Lampard have found the best XI

Chelsea again clicked with a 4-3-3 utilizing dual eights. Frank Lampard has found his best XI, plus or minus three players.

Chelsea tried the 4-3-3 with dual eights twice this season before using it at the start against Burnley. The first time was in the second half against West Brom which allowed the Blues to overcome the three goal deficit. The second time was after the triple sub in the second half against Krasnodar. The Blues were not behind at the moment, but the change again allowed the team to score three goals.

It should not be a total surprise that the 4-3-3 with dual eights works so well with the team. Indeed, on either side of the Covid break, it yielded Chelsea their best performances of Frank Lampard’s inaugural year. The only reason he moved away from it was N’Golo Kante becoming injured made it very difficult to justify with the remaining players. That is surely why the club wanted Declan Rice over the summer and why Lampard has been hesitant to switch to it knowing that it lives and dies by Kante’s fitness.

After the Krasnodar game, however, he said the change answered a lot of questions. Those answers were further revealed as Chelsea beat down Burnley with Kante just behind Mason Mount and Kai Havertz. Though Christian Pulisic was meant to be a starter, Timo Werner took his place and Hakim Ziyech played opposite with Tammy Abraham holding. With so many new signings on the field, Lampard’s best XI, plus or minus maybe three players, will have been revealed.

The backline mostly picks itself at this point. Edouard Mendy is a breath of fresh air. Ben Chilwell is the left back Chelsea long needed for every situation. Thiago Silva and Kurt Zouma switched sides for this one, and it brought the best out of both. The main battle is at right back.

Both Cesar Azpilicueta and Reece James have put in phenomenal performances this season. James offers far more attacking impetus and width whereas Azpilicueta does his work deeper and more methodically. It is clear James is the future, but both will be better suited for different styles of opponents as they split time this season.

The midfield is anchored by Kante flanked by the dual eights. Kante’s ability to read a game while keeping possession simple out of the back allows him to perform the role well and will likely elongate his career. Kai Havertz, meanwhile, is able to influence the game more when starting from a deeper position and his ability to rotate with Hakim Ziyech on the pitch is a dangerous combination for both (more on that shortly). Here the issue is Mason Mount versus Mateo Kovacic.

Mount would be a much more free flowing player in this set up than Kovacic. Whereas Mount would rotate with a winger like Havertz does with Ziyech, Kovacic would more likely than not drive straight forward. He would add a bit more defensive solidarity and safety in possession though, so Kovacic, not unlike Azpilicueta, might be ideal if the opponent is pressing Chelsea rather than sitting back more.

On offense, Ziyech’s role is certain as he strings things together from wide as well as centrally if Havertz overtakes him in the play. The remaining two spots are a battle between three players: Tammy Abraham, Timo Werner, and Christian Pulisic.

Werner has the easiest chance of fitting in because he can play at striker as well as wide. He will offer different things in both roles due to his nature of wanting to roam and get in behind. With Abraham, he has a partner to play off of and he can generally find more space out wide. With Pulisic, he might be expected to stay more central while the winger takes the width before cutting in. There is also the possibility of Abraham sitting and waiting in the center as Pulisic does his work on Werner’s days off.

The main point to be made about that three way battle is that it is pretty safe to call Pulisic injury prone at this point. He was like this at Dortmund and despite Lampard playing it safe and even getting Pulisic his own, specialized program, the injuries are still there. It may be Pulisic’s fate that he is only available for half or less games a season. In those games he can be fantastic, but in the rest, he won’t be an option.

Lampard has eight players that are shoo ins for his best XI. The remaining three spots are contested between a total of seven players with most pitted one versus one. That gives Lampard a grand total of 14 players that could start in his best XI. Maurizio Sarri believed he could only work with 14 players at a time before expanding outward. After nearly a season and a half, Lamaprd has done the opposite by whittling down to 14. Now the key is keeping them all fit together when the matches matter most.