Chelsea Football Formation

Starting Lineup

Courtois · Azpilicueta© · Christensen · Rüdiger · Moses · M. Alonso · Bakayoko · Kanté · D. Luiz · Willian · Morata

Focusing on dominating the center of the pitch and winning the ball back high up the pitch, Chelsea uses a 3-6-1. This formation is built to control the game through possession and maintain a high line to squeeze the space. It is a lineup designed to overwhelm the opposition in the middle thirds.

Courtois operates between the posts to anchor the defense. The back three of Christensen, Rüdiger, and Azpilicueta©, who is the captain, forms a narrow defensive block. Rüdiger uses his aerial strength to win the header and clear the lines during periods of pressure. Christensen acts as a ball playing defender to help play out from the back. Azpilicueta© stays deep to cover the space and hold the line when the team is stretched.

The midfield is a powerhouse designed to control the tempo. D. Luiz sits as a single pivot to shield the defence and recycle possession. Kanté uses his pressing intensity to trigger a press and win it back high up the pitch. Bakayoko works to connect the defensive and attacking lines by carrying the ball forward. Moses and M. Alonso act as wide players to spread wide and stretch the defence. Willian sits as an attacking ten to play through the lines and find the feet of the striker.

Morata acts as a lone striker to hold up the ball and win the second ball. Willian plays in the hole to receive on the half-turn and split the defence with a through ball. To provide width, Moses and M. Alonso push high to get to the byline and deliver early crosses. The team looks to combine in tight spaces to create runs in behind and isolate wide players in one on one situations.

A key strength is the numerical superiority in midfield that allows Chelsea to compress the midfield. The wide players provide the ability to create wide overloads when they overlap the winger. This formation also allows for speed of transition to exploit space.

This 3-6-1 lineup is built to control the rhythm of the match through heavy midfield presence. It is best suited for games against teams that rely on a single pivot or lack numbers in the middle.