From data analysis to personal stories, the Community Articles section of Fantasy Football Scout is home to some thought-provoking, user-penned pieces.
In the article below, nine-year member Nigel The Crab runs the rule over Chelsea’s first two pre-season friendlies.
A lot of us are curious about Chelsea and how Mauricio Pochettino’s tactics will play out.
Will the Argentine use his classic 4-2-3-1 system or the 3-5-1-1 he utilised at Tottenham Hotspur occasionally to great effect?
Well, actually, what we’ve seen so far is something slightly different.
If, like me, you settled down late on Saturday night to take in Chelsea v Brighton and Hove Albion, you might have been surprised, as I was, at how competitive the game was and the tempo. It was a thoroughly good thing, too, as it gave a good indication of on-the-ball to off-the-ball positioning in quick turnovers for both sides.
The fox in the box: Christopher Nkunku
It was notable how much thrust down the left side of Chelsea’s team there was in the first 45 minutes.
We all know how much Ben Chilwell (£5.5m) likes to get forward: he’s more akin to a winger than a full-back, at times.
But unlike under Thomas Tuchel, where you had both sides attack, we saw an asymmetrical approach from Pochettino.
Malo Gusto (£4.0m) on the right was far less cavalier than Chilwell on the left, with Raheem Sterling (£7.0m) playing much wider in order for central midfielders to run between the lines. It must be said that Gusto is absolutely no Reece James (£5.5m), as Brighton attacked the right side of Chelsea’s defence time and again and exposed them with some intricate passing.
But I do find it unlikely we’ll see two marauding full-backs in this new set-up, especially if Christopher Nkunku (£7.5m) is the starting forward. He primarily stayed central and looked to run into spaces unmarked, doing it effectively with a very cute finish for Chelsea’s first goal – a first-time flick with the outside of his boot. The lad is clinical.
With Nkunku staying mostly central, this encouraged Chilwell to get wide down the left, with Carney Chukwuemeka (£4.5m) playing as a deeper ‘number eight’ rather than as a ‘number 10’.
Shape-wise, in possession, Chelsea had Chilwell wide left, Sterling wide right, with Gallagher backing up Nkunku: it was more a 3-2-4-1 than a 4-2-3-1.
Out of possession, Chelsea dropped into a 4-1-4-1 system, with two mobile number eights in Gallagher and Chukwuemeka buzzing around trying to win possession. The team aren’t entirely up to scratch with the system, as it was a little disjointed until the red card in the second half.
Which brings me to…
The street striker: Nicolas Jackson
It’s no exaggeration to state that Nicolas Jackson (£7.0m) and Nkunku are two completely different types of forward, and they could certainly rotate depending on the calibre of the opponent.
With the withdrawal of Chilwell and Nkunku, Chelsea floated between the 4-1-4-1 out of possession again into a 3-2-4-1 – but with more variance.
In the first half, the two in front of the three-man defence were central midfielders, while Chilwell operated high up the pitch.
In the second half, Marc Cucurella (£5.0m) dropped into central midfield, creating the double pivot and pushing central midfielder Cesare Casadei forwards. With this ‘inverting’, Cucurella started bypassing midfield with direct passes forward. It was interesting to hear Jackson say after the game he and Cucurella are good friends, and that he knew the defender would look for him with forward passes – this could be an interesting FPL pairing in the event of a Chilwell injury.
We have to mention Myhailo Mudryk (£6.5m), as well. He was simply dynamite off the left and linked up well with Jackson. The Ukrainian winger scored a fine goal and showcased the unbelievable pace he has but again, it’s his end product which is still slightly lacking. His relationship with Jackson looks promising; the Senegalese striker has built up some good chemistry with his team-mates already and he looks a real option to consider.
Aside from being clinical in front of goal, Jackson’s style is reminiscent of a cage footballer: he has so much pace and skill but is also quite laid-back and isn’t ruffled by rough challenges. And of his skill, he has such quick feet to knit the play effectively – getting the ball off of him is not easy. His jinking runs in the penalty area look like they could be a good source of penalties for Chelsea this season.
Of course, we have to acknowledge that Brighton had 10 men for the last 30 minutes. Even then, Chelsea went to sleep to concede two late goals.
But attacking-wise, there is so much to be enthused about.
What have we learned about Pochettino’s Chelsea so far?
If you’re wanting to own Chelsea attacking assets based on what we’ve seen so far, Jackson and Nkunku are very interesting choices, with each offering something very different and directly influencing the team shape and style of play with their presence. This feels deliberate from Pochettino, as well.
As the season progresses, I could see a Chelsea double-up in attack as a real possibility if their pre-season form is replicated in the league.
Defensively, I would have concerns about owning assets right now. Down the flanks, they were exposed time and time again, and clean sheets look worrisome.
It’s the midfield that brings particular interest, especially from a differential perspective. Gallagher played the entire match and regularly ran beyond the forwards. In the 4-1-4-1 out-of-possession system, he was pressing high (as we’d expect from a Pochettino team) but he was also getting centrally in front of goal after the ball was won, and especially when Jackson drifted wide to pick up possession. Gallagher might well be on his way out of Stamford Bridge but whoever ultimately ends up playing that role is one for the watchlist if these tactics continue.
Then there is Mudryk, who looked great with Jackson up top – but as an FPL asset, this does make him look like a rotation risk.
Sterling might be in the same camp, which may be a surprise to some. We expected Sterling would play wide left against Brighton but he was on the opposite flank and offered very little in terms of goal threat, although did put in some decent deliveries. He was largely ineffectual on the left against Wrexham, as well.
For now, if I had to choose between the identically priced Sterling and Jackson, I would plump for the latter. I don’t think Sterling is a nailed starter on either the right or the left as it stands.
We’ll need more pre-season games to see how things settle down but right now, after two games, we’re seeing a very neat and intricate style of football, inverted full-backs, and two different types of strikers.
We’ve had Pep roulette – ready yourself for Pochettino-changearino (I know, it’ll never catch on!).
