Could we see Chelsea line up in a 3-5-2 this season?

Formation, formation, formation. In addition to all of the talk surrounding Chelsea’s transfer targets and its final squad heading into the season, Thomas Tuchel’s tactical plans have been a huge topic of discussion. The newly extended Blues manager has earned quite a reputation for his formational switches over the years, so it’s understandable that English fans have a lot of questions after not seeing this side of the German last year.

Of course, a lot of Chelsea’s potential schemes have to do with the players the club brings in over the summer. Right now there is minimal traction surrounding an attacking acquisition, with most of the headlines focusing on Jules Kounde, Declan Rice and Aurelien Tchouameni. Tuchel threw everything he had at the wall last year in terms of personnel to try and get the attack to click, but nothing seemed to stick. Therefore, some formational switches could be on the cards for the upcoming campaign.

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Could Chelsea line up in a 3-5-2 formation this season?

One of the most popular suggestions floating around right now is the 3-5-2. While we’ve not seen many signs pointing toward its integration in Tuchel’s side, it comes with a lot of benefits. Most importantly, it keeps the Blues in a three-at-the-back formation. The team’s desire to sell Kurt Zouma and its willingness to play individuals like Lewis Baker along the back line in order to make things work during the preseason points toward this defensive set-up staying regardless. This is a positive sign as Chelsea has looked better with this formation at the back in recent years. Further, it’s something new that’d possibly work with or without attacking additions.

As mentioned above, the Blues don’t seem to be any closer to signing a No. 9. Erling Haaland is not for sale according to his club and Romelu Lukaku isn’t interested in departing Inter Milan, at least not publicly. This means that Tuchel might have to make do with his current depth at center forward, which includes Timo Werner, Tammy Abraham, Armando Broja and Kai Havertz. A 3-5-2 could work to bring out the best in some of these forwards.

In matches where Tuchel opts for a more unconventional strike force, the German duo of Havertz and Werner could play off one another in the advanced spaces. Werner excels as a second striker, getting into space freed up by one of his teammates. It just so happens that Havertz, his proposed partner in the tactical set-up, is a master at finding space. Havertz’s role would be similar to that of Thomas Muller so many times over the years for Germany; a free-roaming forward who is tasked with getting into tricky spaces that either make the centerbacks uncomfortable or drag them out of position. These instructions would also get the 22-year-old—who is one of the Blues’ best finishers—a lot closer to the goal than last season.

The 3-5-2 isn’t limited to a team without signings either. If Marina Granovskaia and Tuchel somehow manage to pry Lukaku away from the world’s fashion capital, the formation in question suits him too. Lukaku has enjoyed perhaps the most successful spell of his career at Inter alongside Lautaro Martinez. While Werner and Martinez have slightly different play styles, the partnership of Werner and Lukaku could work under the German manager’s guidance due to the distinct similarities.

There has been all of this talk of the front line, but what about elsewhere on the pitch? The rest of the formation would largely stay the same. The back line could carry on business as usual, the midfield pivot is not scratched and the wingbacks remain. The only negative is the elimination of wingers. This isn’t as big of a worry as it’d have been in the past though as Chelsea has dealt with injury problems in this position lately. Further, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Christian Pulisic have shown they are more than capable of playing in the more reserved role of wingback under Tuchel. The odd man out here would be Hakim Ziyech.

This leaves Mason Mount. Mount could occupy the free-flowing advanced midfielder role, acting as the final piece to passing diamonds in build-up play all over the pitch. Many will get scared at the thought of the Englishman playing as a lone No. 10 of sorts, but his position would be far from that in theory. In fact, it’d be largely the same role he assumes in the Blues’ starting XI right now.

All of this isn’t to say the formational change is necessary though. Tuchel could have his own ideas on how to fix the attacking woes. Werner and Havertz could also burst onto the scene this season as many supporters (myself included) expect them to do. They’ve now enjoyed a full preseason and know what to expect in the upcoming campaign in the English top flight. The slight tweak to turn this side into a 3-5-2 is always a possibility as long as Tuchel has the German attacking duo at his disposal, the question is whether he’ll take this route or continue trying to seemingly fit a round peg in a square hole during the upcoming season.

Do you think the 3-5-2 could work for the Blues? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter!