Chelsea at Burnley predicted XI: Hakim Ziyech returns in a 3-4-1-2

Romelu Lukaku (No. 9) Right forward, Belgium

Romelu Lukaku has scored 11 goals for Chelsea in all competitions. He sits two goals behind Mount in the league with five, as well. The Belgian can still hit double figures for goals in the Premier League, but things cannot continue the way they’ve been. Lukaku does everything his counterparts in other top teams do, but he doesn’t score nearly as many goals.

Many are arguing the point that Tuchel has insisted on using him as a target man and that’s not his best role. The reason this argument doesn’t hold much water is that top strikers—including Erling Haaland, Robert Lewandowski, Karim Benzema and Dusan Vlahovic—are all used as target men by their coaches too. However, they still score as much as they do because their teammates make sure they try to find the strikers when they’re making runs behind opposition defenses.

Lukaku only got played in behind once against Liverpool, and that was from a centerback: Trevoh Chalobah. It is more infuriating because whenever Lukaku is not on the pitch, the players suddenly spot runs and are eager to play in whoever is running in behind. Every top center forward is good at anchor play, but that’s not all they do. A striker’s job is to hold the ball up and move into spaces, it’s then left for his teammates to do the rest and get him the chances he needs to score goals.

Hakim Ziyech (No. 22) Central attacking midfielder, Morocco

Hakim Ziyech has been Chelsea’s best player since the start of 2022. He was immense in the two Club World Cup games, despite only coming on in the final after 90 minutes. Tuchel mentioned that Ziyech is more comfortable on the right wing in a 4-1-4-1 (or 4-3-3). Nevertheless, Ziyech has played in different systems in recent weeks and he’s been equally superb. He had a minor injury that saw him miss the Carabao Cup final and the FA Cup fifth round tie, but Ziyech seems to be fit now, and in current form, he’s the first attacker on the team sheet.

Kai Havertz (No. 29) Left forward, Germany

Kai Havertz had a very good game against Liverpool. This carried on from the good game he had against Lille in the Champions League Round of 16 game where he scored. His form has not been good in the league though, as he only has two goals so far, and that number is made worse by the fact that he has missed the most chances in the league of any Chelsea player (5). Many think the Blues play better with him in the side, though they cannot point to any real thing he does in the team apart from movement. Of course, movement is very good, but for the role Havertz is supposed to play in the team, saying his best contribution to a team is movement is like saying a goalkeeper’s best contribution to a team is passing and sweeping.

Who do you think makes Chelsea’s starting XI? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter!