Chelsea vs RB Salzburg: Three things to look out for

A tactical switch for Chelsea?

It is yet to be seen if Graham Potter will adopt Todd Boehly’s preferred 4-3-3 formation or he will stick to what has always worked for him, the 3-4-3 formation.
Preferring a 3-4-3 formation, Potter displays a tactical style that would normally be associated with extremely aggressive attacking sides, yet he manages to squeeze defensive acumen out of his squad as well.

At Brighton, Potter used attacking-minded wing-backs such as Solly March – which in this case will likely be Reece James on the right and either Marc Cucurella or Ben Chilwell on the left- to stretch the pitch, bombing forward while on the ball. He prefers his wing-backs to be inverted — that is, a right-footed player on the left, and a left-footed player on the right, to encourage diagonal deliveries from the flanks in towards forwards in the penalty.

While in possession, ball-playing center-backs — at Brighton, it’s often Lewis Dunk and Adam Webster — (Yet to be seen who he’ll go with but Thiago Silva and Wesley Fofana is our best bet based on passing metrics) are encouraged to step up high into midfield to create multiple passing options and play around an opposition press. There are often many passing options to safely progress forward as the center-backs and midfield pivot create multiple possessional triangles to mitigate an opposition press. They’re also not afraid to deploy long-balls, knowing that any turnovers from that would not come in dangerous areas.