Strongest Chelsea Line-up To Face Southampton: Mata In, Lampard Out

Probable line-up for Chelsea and Jose Mourinho?

Chelsea recently saw a change in shape against West Ham United last week as Jose Mourinho opted to go for a 4-3-3 system. It did bear fruit and gave Chelsea a convincing 3-0 victory. Two days later Chelsea lost to FC Basel in their Champions League group fixture in a terrible fashion without even making it a single shot throughout the 90 minutes. This broke out a huge debate among Chelsea fans and frustration began to rise on Mourinho for the omission of Mata. While we can clearly witness that he hasn’t got his perfect 11 yet and is still experimenting with different formations and different players, how will Jose shape Chelsea for their upcoming fixture against Southampton? Will he go for a new formation? Will he change his tactics? Will the inclusion of Mata help? Let us take a look at one probable line-up that he could possibly use against Southampton and an option if succeeded could be used throughout the busy December and the remainder of the season.

4-3-3 (defensive)

Defense:
The back four can continue with the partnership of Cahill and Terry. With Cole fit and ready to play, he could possibly resume duties at left back. As seen in the last two matches Ivanovic has not been our best player. His last match performance was badly influenced by fatigue. With Azpilicueta playing in his less favoured position in the absence of Ashley Cole and highly impressing at left back, he could play in his favoured position as a Right Back in place of Ivanovic.

Midfielders:
As seen in the last two games Mikel played a much deeper role. He can be replaced by the more physical Essien and given his performances this season in the Capital One Cup, Essien could prove to be very much vital for Chelsea if tried out in the deeper role, just ahead of the back four. Lampard is clearly showing the signs of aging and we can’t afford to start him week-in week-out. Lampard and Ramires could be replaced by Oscar and Mata ahead of Essien. Oscar and Mata can make quick forward moves as the space they are given in the middle as well as track back to contribute defensively.

Attackers:
Andre Schurrle could be introduced in the left wing along with Eden Hazard on the right wing to give Chelsea more width while attacking with Fernando Torres playing as a central striker. Also Willian could be a good option to rotate between Hazard and Schurrle given the tight December schedule.