PBP: EPL - chelsea FC vs Manchester United FC - Nov 28, 2021 [R]

Remove Matic. Put Bruno. 4-3-3.

 

Drop Fred for Bruno!!

 

Carrick in midfield pls

 

Hopefully, Carrick has received his Ralfball powerpoints by now...

 

Preferred XI for this one
--------------------------Dave
----------AWB---Bailly---Lindelof---Telles
---------------Bruno---Matic---Donny
-----------Sancho---Ronaldo---Rashford
The only real questions for me as far as this game is concerned, are in midfield. Probably won't see much of him anymore (starting at least) once Rangnick arrives but Matic starts tomorrow for me. Mc's current form simply does not warrant him starting and Matic is rested and should be good to go.
Went with Donny also, but wouldn't be all that surprised if Carrick elected to go for Fred. The game will need to be held under control in midfield (where Matic comes in) and it's not hard to see that Carrick going for Fred's qualities as a disrupter, who will break things up. The way Carrick praised Donny (and his versatility particularly) was encouraging though in him retaining his place. We'll see what happens there.
Tuchel has confirmed that Chilwell is out (as well as Kovacic), along with Kante in all probability. As mentioned though before, Alonso and Loftus-Cheek are solid guys to bring up in their stead (RLC has looked good since being recalled).

 

Be interesting if Carrick uses similar tactics.

Yesterday Martial, Van de Beek, & Sancho were doing cover work.

Donny dropped into midfield instead of staying up with the striker (Martial) in a 442. This, forcing Fred outside to cover behind LW (CR7). It limited Donny’s impact but kept a good shape. pic.twitter.com/xICzwK91gd

— Abdel (@AbdelBeheri) November 24, 2021

 

Fred is starting this one guys.

 

Normally under the circumstances it would make sense for us to be more on the reactive side. I think Fred can offer us something on the high press, but I don't think Fred can do much to contain Reece James. Physically and technically, Reece will walk all over him. Doing the same thing we did against Villarreal I don't see working for us. There's no straight forward solution for us here and Carrick will need to think very carefully about the problems on our left.

Beside the issues on our left, challenging Chelsea's three CBs will be difficult. Cristiano on his own isn't enough. Maybe Cristiano on the left, a false nine in the middle and Sancho on the right. Chalobah lacks experience. Reece will be focused mostly on getting forward. There will be space there for Cristiano to effect the game from the left. I think we need a false nine to help draw out one of the CBs and create more space for Cristiano and Sancho. I don't know if Martial is well suited to that role. He doesn't inspire enough confidence for me.

 

The main concern for me when it comes to this Chelsea team, is that almost everywhere you look, there are bad/problematic matchups to deal with. The more I think about it actually, the more I believe Fred will start, simply because we have to. As long as he's not paired with Mc, he's actually an asset we need in this case.
Matic is not fleet of foot and as long as he can retain some kind of discipline, having Fred's stamina and disrupting energy around is vital for balance. And Fred may not be able to contain someone like James, but it's not like Bruno or Donny can do better. Fred is still the best option we've got in all likelihood to stay anywhere near him.
Besides, if we play it smart, he really shouldn't have to either: Telles is not known for his defensive work but if he is supported by someone like Fred, perhaps it might be enough to reduce James's influence.
James is definitely a problem to solve but Alonso going forward on the other side, might prove to be another one to deal with all by himself. As mentioned, it almost like too much: you focus on one player/area to contain and there pops another player, problem area to deal with.
Even with no Kante or Kovacic, their midfield with Jorginho and RLC will be no gimme either. RLC was always a talented player but he's another who appears to be reborn under Tuchel somehow. Same goes CHO, who has been in terrific form lately. It's really crazy the impact he's had when you look at it.
A win would be excellent but will be very happy if we can get a draw tomorrow tbh.

 

I would go 451. Clutter the middle

------------------DDG
AWB ----Bailly ----Lindelof ----Telles
Donnie ------- Matic ------ Fred
Sancho -------------Lingard
-------------Cavani

We won't see this but if you want a team that can chase a bit and keep things tight and compact. Help on defense and can spring a counter. Late in the game of still tied you can on Bruno, Ronny, and Rash to be your front three and Maybe McT to give Fred a rest.

 

@Deadtigers Carrick wont drop Ronaldo .

 

Dave, AWB, Bailly, Lindelof, Telles, Matic, McTominay, Fred, Sancho, Bruno, Rashford

 

Interesting.

 

Is this a false 9?

A split forward pair? Or Matic in a back 3.

 

Chelsea XI: Mendy, Chalobah, Thiago Silva, Rudiger James, Jorginho, RLC, Alonso, Ziyech, CHO, Werner

Carrick sticking with Mc for this one: ok, let's see how this goes. Going for what he did vs Villareal perhaps: holding on for the first 2/3 of the game and have some firepower on reserve in Donny and Ronaldo to try and grab all the point?

 

4-d-2 most likely.

Will have to see, based on last game could be a mix of two shapes again.

 

Whatever it is, is aimed to counter (in numbers) that they are very strong in the middle and we ……. aint

Jones on the bench - hopefully that is where he stays …..

 

You're on a roll lately!

 

Carrick: "A few tweaks and changes to freshen things up. Anthony [Martial] and Donny [van de Beek] too and Cristiano Ronaldo is your standout name [to be on the bench]. I have had a good chat with Cristiano and he was great." #mulive [sky]

— utdreport (@utdreport) November 28, 2021

 

#CarrickOut

 

Brentford now just a point behind us, hopefully we can get something from this game in our fight for safety …

 

I can't look at the table. You don't think it is that bad until you see the table.

Now Carrick and co want to get ballsy. I wish we were like this in the beginning of the year.