Chelsea fans’ preferred lineup against Burnley: The return of the 4-3-3!

Chelsea travel to Burnley for Matchday 7 as we look to keep our unbeaten run going. The midweek fixture was the perfect warm up for what should be a robust and tough nut to crack, as usual. Fatigue might start creeping in, so it will be very interesting to see how Chelsea line up against Sean Dyche’s men.

THE PEOPLE’S CHOICE

The 4-2-3-1 (33%) had become the WAGNH community’s go-to formation recently, but due to the effectiveness of the 4-3-3 during the second half on Wednesday, the three-man midfield makes a triumphant return.

Édouard Mendy, on the other hand, isn’t going anywhere as he has his spot firmly locked down after a great start to his Chelsea career — leaving Willy Caballero and Petr Cech no chance with the two getting just 2.5% combined.

Chelsea’s defense has been pretty solid of late and the community wants to see this continue by sticking with pretty much the same players, at least in the league. Votes-leader Thiago Silva therefore replaces Antonio Rüdiger (13%) and Reece James comes in for César Azpilicueta (22%). Fikayo Tomori (11%) was the best of the rest.

Mateo Kovačić (44%) and Jorginho (15%) didn’t enjoy the best of performances midweek, and the voting reflected this. Instead, we get the combination that finished out the day against Krasnodar, with Mason Mount partnering Kai Havertz in midfield, and N’Golo Kanté sitting just behind them.

On the wings, Christian Pulisic and Hakim Ziyech easily locked in their spots after good performances, Callum Hudson-Odoi (11%) making way. Timo Werner received fewer votes than he’s become accustomed to, but this might be down to the increasing need to find him some rest. Regardless, Tammy Abraham (23%) and Olivier Giroud (10%) sit this one out.

4-3-3 (63%)
Mendy (98%) | Chilwell (92%), Silva (98%), Zouma (75%), James (83%) | Mount (66%), Kanté (94%), Havertz (80%) | Pulisic (95%), Werner (71%), Ziyech (88%)

MY PREFERRED CHOICE

It easy to say in hindsight, but I haven’t been too impressed by the 4-2-3-1 this season. I’ve always preferred a three-man midfield, so Wednesday’s second-half resurgence in the 4-3-3 was quite a treat. No question about favouring it going forward, for me.

As far as the players, I prefer the same eleven as the community, with the exception of retaining Kovačić in midfield. I’m not necessarily convinced a double-8 midfield combination will cut it with Mount and Havertz — though I’ll be gladly proven wrong. Despite a poor performance earlier this week, Kovačić brings wonderful balance and physicality to the team, which lets him dance through opposition. We could very well need something like that going up against Burnley.

4-3-3
Mendy | Chilwell, Silva, Zouma, James | Kovačić, Kanté, Havertz | Pulisic, Werner, Ziyech