What do you guys think will be Conte's Chelsea line up next season ?

With the 3-5-2 out of the door and the 4-4-2 or 4-2-4 being tested right now during pre-season, it looks rather clear we will be playing with two strikers next season. The defense is still to be sorted but the biggest problems for me lies ahead.

A two man midfield with no protection ahead of them means two mobile and hard working runners, which clearly doesn't sound like Fabregas. In my opinion he is one of our best players alongside Willian, Costa and Eden.. Selling him would means give away our main source of creativity in our midfield, I really hope that doesn't happen. With the Kante signing it looks like Matic and Kante are going to play alongside and power the midfield up and down the pitch. I'd hope that Kante could provide enough legs to cover for Cesc and allow him to take Matic's spot.. Cesc played alongside Matic in 2014 when Matic was in form and we had no real problem defensively so I believe that could work. Oscar has also impressed in that role during the last game, but against a better opposition he will be liability.

On the wings Conte obviously need stamina, power and speed. Willian is an obvious choice and Moses has been impressive in pre-season. They will play a huge part. Cuadrado looks like the right player for a 4-4-2 and has held the right wing at Juve before. Hope we keep hold of him and give him a second chance here. Then comes Hazard. Playing him in such a wide role doesn't suits him at all. Looking at the pre-season games, Conte's wingers almost hug the touchline all game and play a big part defensively. If he is played on the left wing our left back will constantly be exposed and I can see him hand in a transfert request when asked to defend more.. Pedro and Atsu are also an option.

One of the strikers will be Batshuayi and the other one of Diego, Morata or Lukaku. Well my first choice is to keep Diego who is one of the greatest strikers today, but obviously has an attitude problem. It's easy for defenders to get him out of the game by making him lose his shite. If he goes, I'd rather have Morata who would perform on counter-attacking as much as in tight spaces while Romelu plays IMO more like a dog chasing a ball.. I personally would love to see a partnership between Diego and Eden upfront. As said before, the wings doesnt suit Hazard, and he has proven himself to be dangerous up front. Him and Diego have different profiles so wont step on each other feet, and he could also play as a false 9 and come deeper when needed.

My line-up:
Players in brackets are back ups

------------------------- Courtois ---------------------------------
Azpi ------- New CB ----------- Zouma (Cahill) ------- New LB
--------------- Cesc (Oscar) ----- Kante (Matic) ----------------
Cuadrado (Moses) ------------------------------- Willian (Pedro)
--------------- Hazard (Batman) -- Costa -----------------------

I think willian will play RM and hazard lm with batman st

flops...all of 'em

A two man midfield with no protection ahead of them means two mobile and hard working runners, which clearly doesn't sound like Fabregas.

That's a myth I always see being brought up by Chelsea fans, in fact it is the exact opposite. Take a look at this and this.

Generally, I agree with everything else you said, though. What surpised me the most, was the fact that RLC was deployed as a striker in the two pre-season games. I would rather take the same approach as you, partnering Hazard up-front with Costa, while having Willian and Pedro/Cuadrado out on the wings (sell Atsu, Cuevas; keep Kenedy). That would save us the step of having to buy Lukaku, Morata, Higuain etc. who are all massively overpriced atm. Especially in Morata's case I can't fathom how Real can demand 80 million for a player who's only scored 7 times in 34 Serie A games this season and doesn't dispose any real standout-attribute, so I'd rather avoid him considering we've already signed a pricey striker this summer.

For me the purchase of a new CB and a new LB are essential. As Ivanovic has deteriorated massively over the course of the last 1 - 2 seasons, I would shift Azpi to the right while playing the new LB (ideally Ricardo Rodriguez, but I don't think we'll be able to pull that one off) with Aina (RB) and Baba (LB - still looks too nervous to play a bigger role imo) providing cover and Ivanovic being able to help out at both RB and CB. Regarding the new CB, I'd be happy with the most rumoured one, Koulibaly, as Bonucci is untouchable for us.

So.. 4-4-1-1

--------------------------------------- Courtois (Begovic)---------------------------------------------
Azpi (Aina) ------ Koulibaly (Cahill) ------- Zouma (Terry) ----- Rodriguez (Baba)
-------------------------------Fabregas (Oscar) ----- Kante (Matic) ----------------------------
Willian (Cuadrado) -------------------------------------------------------------- Pedro (Moses)
------------------------------------------------ Hazard (Traoré) ----------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------- Costa (Batshuayi) --------------------------------------

@JuanMata10 If Chelsea are unable to get Koulibaly, you can't forget about Miazga, the U.S.A. defender Chelsea signed last winter. Though he need more development, he could fit perfectly as Cahill's backup if a potential transfer for a better CB fails.

@Juan

The main issue with Chelsea last season was the lack of protection in front of the defense, and the individual mistakes made by members of the back four.

With Kante, and hopefully a better version of Matic, I don't think that protection for the defense will be an issue. The only question is if you play with 2 CDM's, 1 CDM, or 2 CMs. In any of those versions I would assume one has to be Kante, and the other has to be one of Fabregas or Matic. Either way, it's probably sorted due to the fact that Kante stays at home, unlike Fabregas, who is always out of position defensively, which is why he has to work so hard in the first place. But with Kante, that (probably) ceases to be an issue.

The real question then becomes the individual reliability of the back four. As we saw throughout last season and going into this preseason, Terry and Ivanovic are borderline unplayable due to that factor. Zouma is coming off a very serious injury, so l wouldn't be surprised if he is off the pace for the first half of the season. Cahill and Azpi are both solid defenders, not worth worrying about. I do agree that you need to sign another fullback, since Baba doesn't inspire me with confidence.

The downside to making Chelsea defensively sound with stay-at-home midfield protection is that is weakens the attack considerably. I would say it is reasonable to assume that in a game where Chelsea is not chasing a goal, we will see a maximum of five players forward. It's enough to score, but not in large numbers against capable defenses. Players like Hazard, Pedro, and Costa are going to have to be on point.

Of course, much is that is negated by having a second striker. It allows two players to be forward at all times, so Costa does not get isolated on the wing like we saw so much of last season. The downside to that is with two strikers, Chelsea cannot play out wide, or if they do, they can have only one holding midfielder. To fair, if that midfielder is Kante, it might be possible to pull it off.

Should be interesting to see how they line up.

@JM

Ricardo would be such a significant purchase by the board and Conte. Finally someone would have the balls to kick Ivan out of the starting line up and start using proper RB et LB in those positions! Seriously we missed out on Luis, one of the best left back in the game just because we were too afraid of putting Ivan on the bench. Also he would be available for around 25M euros which is a steal in today's market.

It does look like we're going to get one of Koulibaly and Manolas. Both great physical defenders, have the legs, young but quite pricey. Wouldn't mind splashing the cash tho, we need it. Koulibaly and a fit Zouma would be a nightmare for any CF.

Still, as @sunflash said, I think those Fabregas stats make him look like he cover a lot of ground because he is constantly chasing the opposition. This is a good exemple: http://bit.ly/2a5YR6C. Dont think Conte will be a fan, but after a few games of Matic and Kante, he will realize that we need some vision and creativity from deep and not rely only on Willian and Hazard to create opportunities. Since none of Kante and Matic can pass the ball from deep, Fabregas is needed, him and Kante are worth the try.

Eden next to Costa could happen, as Conte played a small technical forward next to big man Pelle in the Euros, and really hope it will, otherwise Hazard is off imo. If he his given the second striker and free roam role, this could be the best thing that happened at our club sign he signed for us.

One thing for sure, one thing Chelsea and Conte got in common is being strong at the back. I agree Koulibaly and Zouma would be great at CB. A replacement for Ivanovic would be good as well. Chelsea need better option for their defense wich is getting a bit too old in my opinion. Hope to see some change under Conte!

@Chanakya999: I don't think he's ready to play such a big role yet, pretty sure he'll spend more time on the bench than on the pitch this season.

@SunFlash (& @Chucksea): I agree that Kanté has to be a starter for Chelsea. However, the main issue you highlighted is a consequence of the real problem. The root of this problem lies somewhere else - the inability of playing with a high defensive line. Ivanovic' and especially Terry's lack of pace forces the complete backline to stay deep, as they'd get crucified on the counter. Now, most elite teams have to play with a high line as they are the ones who are supposed to "dominate" the game against weaker oppositions, who are sitting deep and waiting for counters.

In Chelsea's case - deep defensive line + inability of attacking players to create chances - it was mostly Fabregas who then took responsibilty and pushed up further, thus creating the lack of protection of the back four you suggested. Fabregas is not exactly the fastest player around, but to assume that he is not a hard worker, is simply not true. With the right tactical instructions from Conte, he'll also learn to run more intelligently. I have no doubt that a pivot of Fabregas and Kanté will be very successful.

Back to Chelsea's deep line.. I think this is why Baba never really couldn't gain a foothold. As an inexperienced, attacking-minded fullback he was overstrained with the task of having to cover for Terry's lack of pace. Everytime he overlapped Hazard, he instantly had to run back knewing that a counter-attack is imminent. Having not only one, but two defensive liabilities in Terry and Ivanovic, it was bound to go wrong for him. I think that Baba won't be able to show his true abilities at Chelsea until Terry retires. This is why I'm still bitter about Filipe Luis.

Oh, and regarding your last paragraph, @Sunflash - I know it is not the ultimate indicator for the upcoming Premier League season, but I've been to the stadium three days ago, when Chelsea played Austrian team WAC in a friendly and I've seen the exact opposite to what you've said. This is how Chelsea lined up in case you're interested (4-4-2, or more accurately 4-2-4). Most of the chances were created on the wings with Willian and especially Moses being constant threats. More often than not, Chelsea were playing short passes in the middle of the pitch and on the right (while accordingly dragging the opponents' backline to the same side), subsequently shifting the play to the left wing (Moses) with a quick, long, over-the-top ball. Interesting to see how they'll play when business gets serious.

@juan

I did see some of that game and I was impressed by Chelsea's ball movement, but thinkers within the game decided that the 4-2-4 does not connect the midfield to the attack, a key part of ball movement, which is largely why it has been phased out of the game over the last 50 years. I mean, it worked for the 1950 Brazil and England teams, but we don't see long ball football played anymore. To be honest, I don't think I've seen a team in a top division EVER play that formation, so I can't give too much opinion on it. From what I can find, even Conte never used it with Juventus or Italy.

Of course, formations shouldn't be overvalued. Theoretically, the workrate of Kante coupled with Fabregas' passing might be enough to overrun the midfield with just two players. But what if you play a team using, for example, a 4-5-1? Chelsea will NEVER be able to possess the ball. The 4-5-1 offers width and midfield dominance, so the only way you'll be able to connect with the front line is simply hoofing it forward.

Unreliable at best.

If Conte can make it work though, he's a *** genius.

@Sunflash

I have the same opinion, I'm a big fan of the 4-2-3-1 as a solid mid 2 and a clever number 10 can carry the whole team forward rather easily. Imo best line up to break through defensive lines. Didnt work out well for us under Mourinho as Oscar never lived up to the expectations in that 10 role and our defense brought the ship down big time.

I clearly dont like the 4-2-4 formation cuz it seems old fashioned at first sight and, as you said, its clearly not a ball dominance line up, but well, Mancini did help Man city win the title with that formation in 2012 so lets hope it works out..

Oscar said in an interview that their going to play the 4-2-4 system, so we clearly need a new CB and if remy leaves then we need a new striker(maybe morata) but who's is going to play in the midfield, and we have a big squad with alot of wingers and not everyone will get playing time so who is or should leave? And we should sell mikel instead of matic bcuz we will have injuries and we will need him.

Looking How conte turned average quality Italy into a defending machine, im not worried. Conte Will play with the hungriest players in his posesssion, I suspect many surprises in the starting XI some players built names And stopped to do sacrifice week in week out.

I'm hoping Oscar gets a chance at central defensive mid and attacking mid. What we need is to sign a new center back as a long term replacement for JT but someone who can also make an instant impact. Also a new sricker should be brought in to replace Remy.

I reckon we should with a wide 4-2-2-2

--------------- -------------------------------Courtois---------- -------------------------------
Ivanovic(Aina)-----Koulibaly(Cahill)------------Terry(Zouma)-------------Azpi(Baba)
--------------------Fabregas(Oscar)-- ----------------Kante(Matic)---- -----------------
Wllian(Cudrado)--------------------------- -------------------------------Hazard(Pedro)
----------------------Batman(Traore)--- -----------Costa(Traore) ----------------------