Chelsea Football Formation

Lineup (4-1-4-1)

You only have to look at Chelsea's form without Terry, the lack off leadership leaves our back four open to counter attack and set pieces. Along with that Luiz's Brazilian instincts when running forward leaves us in 3v3 situations when he loses possession. Hence I have put Iva and JT at CB. They are both the best headers in our team and the most physically strong. The only downside is Iva's temperament, at least if he gives a FK away its down the wing where he normally plays at RB so its a bit risky as he will be making tacked in the box more often. Azpilicueta was a simple call, he has performed well in the few games hes played and more importantly he has pace. Playing Iva at RB makes us predictable and easy to play against, with Cole pairing up (normally with Mata) on the left side we play this attack too often and gives the opposition a focal point. With this formation it gives us pace on both sides with Mikel holding to drop back in case we lose possession.

You're probably surprised with the Mikel/Luiz. For those who say Mikel is a waste of time I will prove you wrong, although he doesn't play the fancy footwork he is the closest we have come to replacing Makelele. This season he has a 83% success in tackle rating and a 91% pass completion rate. If that isnt enough he averages losing posession every 88 minutes. For someone in a demanding role he does it better than most. I was tempted to play the 4-2-3-1 formation but two things turned me off, 1) Its proven we need to play a more defensive system, most teams play this now and its easier to break down, 2) Playing Luiz and Mikel in the holding 2 would be the most obvious, but Luiz's tendency to drift forward may be too tempting. The other option was putting Romeu in this position but his lack of first team action might be costly.

Luiz judgement in defence isnt great, instead of the old fashion clearance he is more tempted to wiggle his way though the players. That being said theres no doubt he is the best tackler and has an eye for the game. He has a total of 83 interceptions, that might not sound a lot but compare that with Cahills 19 interceptions and it tells a story. Too often Chelsea get beaten in midfield and are on the wrong end of a killer through ball. Our more technically gifted players (Hazard, Mata, Oscar) who are responsible for keeping the ball in midfield aren't necessarily capable of doing this consistently. Luiz adds depth and power in midfield, it may sound bizarre but David makes a much more efficient midfielder than defender.

I dont need to really explain myself for the Mata/Hazard partnership in midfield, in terms of creativity Mata is ranked 1st and Hazard 3rd for this season so far. Last season Mata notched up an average of 2.6 chances per game, compared with 3.1 this season. Part of that is down to the switch into the centre from the left, Mata is far more effective in this position where he can ghost through the gaps between defence and midfield which allow him to play a killer ball, Mata and Hazards position are interchangeable, they've shown this a lot this season especially against Swansea and Newcastle.

Moses was a tight call, however his age, pace and dribble qualities persuaded me, last season Moses made 261 dribbles, albeit the success rate was around 50% but compared to someone similar say Matt Jarvis only attempted 86 dribbles. This season he has been very very effective, even scored a few goals. Its not secret Chelsea often try to pass the ball into the net instead of taking a shot when a bit of space opens up, last season Moses had a total of 103 shots, thats more than Walcott, Sinclair and Sturridge. He is very technically gifted to, he loves to attack the LB and fire in a low cross which is more preferable to our midfield given they aren't the tallest players.

My last choice was Lukaku, for now this was a no brainer. Since Drogba's departure we lack a player who can physically terrorize a defense and whose presence can drift the opposition to create gaps in the defense, in pre-season he notched 2 goals against Seattle. Both goals were uncanny to Drogba. Our new style has made us more nimble, given us better agility and technical play however sometimes you need a bit of Stoke City in you. I think thats where Lukaku and Luiz fit in.

Obviously this isn't a constant thing, I'm aware of the likes of Oscar, Lamps and Ramires etc. But for now I think this may tone down our fancy play but overall it will improve our resilience to conceding on the counter and set pieces.