The Champions League is back, although Chelsea could not pull off a tougher opponent than Atlético Madrid. The leaders of La Liga could very well represent Thomas Tuchel’s biggest challenge of the season, with tactics and team selection that must be perfect. Chelsea can definitely come away with a first quarterfinal since 2014.
PEOPLE’S CHOICE
There were no surprises in the series as the WAGNH community stuck with the 3-4-3, as the 4-2-3-1 (12%) and 4-3-3 (9%) lagged far behind. Simply put, Édouard Mendy is still not worried about Kepa Arrizabalaga (6%).
With Thiago Silva still out, a back try from Toni Rüdiger, Andreas Christensen and César Azpilicueta should work pretty well. Kurt Zouma (46%) returns to the bank. Ben Chilwell is selected as Marcos Alonso (40%) as wing, after a poor performance by the latter at the weekend. On the other hand, it’s Reece James who has no competition with Callum Hudson-Odoi playing up front.
The pivot of N’Golo Kanté and Mateo Kovačić was not at their best, as Southampton drew Chelsea on Saturday, but Jorginho (40%) missed again, with Billy Gilmour (2%) little more than a reflection.
Hakim Ziyech (15%) was over the pace on Saturday and the community responded accordingly by favoring Mason Mount and Hudson-Odoi in front of him. Christian Pulisic (38%) and Kai Havertz (25%) have just returned from injury, so voters saw no need to chase them back. Timo Werner leads the line ahead of Tammy Abraham (14%) and Olivier Giroud (38%).
3-4-3 (73%)
Mendy (93%) | Rüdiger (85%), Christensen (66%), Azpilicueta (80%) | Chilwell (57%), Kanté (74%), Kovačić (82%), James (60%) | Hudson-Odoi (63%), Werner (83%), Mount (91%)
MY PREFERRED CHOICE
Yes, I like Jorginho. The team feels unbalanced on the field without him, especially since he switched to Tuchel’s system. While Kanté should also be helpful against opposition you want to capture during the break, I get the feeling that we will urgently need Jorginho here.
I was a little on the fence about who would start in front. Giroud seems like a smart choice against a physical and deep-lying team like Atlético, but I understand why the community eventually stuck with Werner, even though I do not really see how he will do better against the strong defense. I hope I’m wrong.
I also kept Alonso on the sidelines, despite his recent poor performance, as my gut says he will turn up against Diego Simeone’s men. A little more height in the side would not be bad either.
3-4-3
Mendy | Rüdiger, Christensen, Azpilicueta | Alonso, Jorginho, Kovacic, James | Hudson-Odoi, Giroud, Mount