Should Potter set Chelsea up differently against Leicester?

Chelsea travels to Leicester City on Saturday with a chance to complete a three-game win streak.

After wins against Leeds United and Borussia Dortmund, CFC has won back-to-back matches for the first time since October 2022. This shows the kind of form the Blues have been in, and how much they need to win again. They have played a 3-4-3 in their last two games, keeping a clean sheet in both games and scoring three goals, creating seven clear-cut chances in total. Chelsea’s acquisition in the window signifies a desire to move to a four-man defense permanently, the problem is that they do not have a defensive midfielder on their roster having sold Jorginho. Moving to a three-man defense has yielded great performances, wins and clean sheets, so should Graham Potter change back to a four defenders for the Leicester match? Short answer? No.

Chels’ were playing a 3-4-3, or some variation of that under Thomas Tuchel when the German was sacked, Potter also used this formation some when he took over. In the last few months, Chelsea has been in really bad form, a form that has seen them embed themselves in 10th place, so much so that the Blues are depending on teams around them to fail for them to even leave 10th place. Potter’s men sit four points behind ninth place Brentford, who have a game in hand. A win in that game in hand would put Brentford seven points ahead of the capital club, which would give Brentford a two game cushion for them to not pick up wins and still remain ahead of Chelsea.

Should Chelsea use a different formation?

Chelsea’s switch to a 3-4-3 has helped them in many ways. It has added an extra centerback to reassure the defenders, goalkeeper and central midfielders. It has also helped the wingbacks to move up the flanks without being scared of their adventurousness being exploited. It has helped CFC to control games better as well, thanks to Wesley Fofana, who has moved closer to the midfield when the Blues are in possession, adding an extra man to the midfield and giving Enzo Fernandez or Mateo Kovacic some freedom to drive the ball forward, which they naturally like to do.

This formation has also helped the Blues to be comfortable relinquishing possession to the opposition too, as was the case in the second leg of the Borussia Dortmund tie. Chelsea restricted Dortmund to just one clear cut chance, while they themselves created four, including a penalty.

Many outlets echoed the reports that the Leeds and Dortmund games would be key games to the board, concerning his job. He moved to a back three and has won those games, moving back to a back four would be stubborn, especially because the west London outfit is not only winning with this shape, but also playing very well. Right now the gaffer needs to be victorious, he can try to instll his ideas gradually (whatever they are) while putting some points on the board. Winning games would not only play a big role in getting the fans on his side, it would play a crucial  role in getting the players on his side, because while many players have said they trust him, that trust would have been called into question if CFC had continued on their winless run.