3. What will the overall shape of this preseason be?
Preseasons are all too often slapped together last minute. Usually, Chelsea will go on a tour or two abroad with a few friendlies before returning to England for a few more. This season, the England part is already set up with matches against Arsenal and Tottenham. That’s all that has been set up so far however.
Tuchel allegedly wants a very difficult preseason to get the Blues physically and mentally prepared for a rough start to the season. There are arguments for and against why that might work but it is clear that the club wants to hit the ground running. Last preseason was relatively light compared to rivals and it saw the Blues start slow before clicking when everyone else was already starting to wane. Tuchel rightly sees that this won’t work so well this year with so many hard fixtures front loaded.
Furthermore, Tuchel was able to do a lot with little last season. He may have had two weeks total where he had uninterrupted training time with a full squad. He’ll be missing lots of international stars this preseason, but it will still be the most uninterrupted time he’s had with the team. If he was able to do so much last season with limited training, just think of what this season could be.
One thing to keep an eye on during any preseason fixtures is how often the formation changes. Last season, Tuchel was only ever able to use 3-4-2-1 and variants of it. The transfer rumors indicate that he’d like to keep that in place but don’t be surprised if the Blues lineup in a 4-3-3 or 4-2-2-2 during preseason. Ideally, Tuchel will have a squad that can play multiple formations according to the opponent without missing a beat. He’ll need matches, and a variety of opponents to do that, as preseason shapes up.
What are you looking for this preseason? Let us know in the comments and on Twitter!