The Pride of London
Fansided

Chelsea: Three things to look for against Crystal Palace

By Vansh Ambashta

LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 07: Cesar Azpilicueta of Chelsea and Jordan Ayew of Crystal Palace battle for the ball during the Premier League match between Crystal Palace and Chelsea FC at Selhurst Park on July 07, 2020 in London, England. Football Stadiums around Europe remain empty due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in all fixtures being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Justin Tallis/Pool via Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 07: Cesar Azpilicueta of Chelsea and Jordan Ayew of Crystal Palace battle for the ball during the Premier League match between Crystal Palace and Chelsea FC at Selhurst Park on July 07, 2020 in London, England. Football Stadiums around Europe remain empty due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in all fixtures being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Justin Tallis/Pool via Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 3
Next
LONDON, ENGLAND – JANUARY 31: Kai Havertz of Chelsea interacts with team mate Timo Werner following the Premier League match between Chelsea and Burnley at Stamford Bridge on January 31, 2021 in London, England. Sporting stadiums around the UK remain under strict restrictions due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in games being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – JANUARY 31: Kai Havertz of Chelsea interacts with team mate Timo Werner following the Premier League match between Chelsea and Burnley at Stamford Bridge on January 31, 2021 in London, England. Sporting stadiums around the UK remain under strict restrictions due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in games being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images) /

3. Attacking approach

Chelsea has struggled to create chances for a while now. While the team has looked defensively solid, the attack has struggled in one way or the other. A huge piece that is missing from the attack is the lack of a clinical forward.

Timo Werner has been extremely poor with his finish for a while and cannot be relied upon as a regular goal threat. The false nine experiment with Kai Havertz has worked at times, but he hasn’t received the right service. Christian Pulisic and Hakim Ziyech are two positive forwards with bright ideas. However, they both lack the ruthlessness to finish chances at will. Mason Mount has stepped up his finishing under Tuchel, being his leading goalscorer, but the young Englishman still has a lot of work to do.

Chelsea needs a regular source of goals, and the two names that instantly come to mind are Tammy Abraham and Olivier Giroud. While Giroud has been excellent individually, his presence needs other forwards to adjust and play to his strengths, which has been said on multiple occasions. On the other hand, Tammy Abraham has fluid movement, is a decent dribbler of the ball, and seems to make Werner look better. Despite all of this, Abraham finds himself on the squad’s fringes due to hidden reasons that no one knows.

Another huge question that needs to be discussed is the “safe” approach in attack. Tuchel described that Chelsea suffered in the game and needed some luck to come through. Chelsea’s play has looked a bit “safe” at times, and things can be spiced up with forwards like Ziyech and Pulisic. Tuchel faces a dilemma as he must choose an attacking setup that gets the result with one foot on the plane to Seville next week.

Next. This is your Sergio Aguero to Chelsea clickbait article. dark

What are you looking for in this match? Let us know in the comments and on Twitter!

Home/Premier League