Chelsea will resume Champions League action tonight on their trip to Amsterdam to face Ajax in their Group H group stage game. The London side club has had five successive wins across all competition and should they win tonight, they will have won their second Champions League game in a row.
Their 1-0 win against Newcastle over the weekend is enough to set the mood and boost their confidence enough for the coming games. Chelsea has been on fire so far and with their current form, they are set for a great feat.
The team suffered an opening loss against Spanish side Valencia but bounced back with their last clash against French side Lille.
It is not going to be easy for Chelsea tonight due to some factors but it is the Champions League and no one expects to get push-overs. Ajax will have home advantage against Chelsea while the London side club have some key player injuries to consider. Let’s also not forget that Ajax was in the Champions League semi-final last season.
Even with some of their key players like Frenkie De Jong and Mathis De Ligt who left over the summer, the club still looks strong in structure and game-play. The Dutch champions have won both of their matches so far in the group and are unbeaten domestically.
Key Chelsea players confirmed to miss the match
With Andreas Christensen and Emerson Palmieri confirmed injured, Chelsea’s defense is going to be in great trouble. Even though Emerson took part in Chelsea’s training, there are still doubts on whether Frank Lampard would risk having him play against a strong Ajax.
Ross Berkley is yet another player who just joined the injured list, having suffered an injury against Newcastle over the weekend. N’Golo Kante is also closing in on a return to the team but he might only be fit enough to sit on the bench.
Likely formation
With Frank Lampard’s main men injured and unavailable for the match, Chelsea will have to make good use of the other quality players in their possession.
Defensively, we might be seeing Kurt Zouma, Fikayo Tomori and Captain Cesar Azpilicueta playing centrally and with Kante out of the equation, we have Jorginho and Mateo Kovacic in the central roles protecting the attacking three.
Most likely, Tammy Abraham will be leading the line for Chelsea with Mason Mount on the left side. This leaves Frank Lampard with the decision of choosing between several wingers on who occupies the other side with Willian, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Christian Pulisic all in the frame.
With this, we should be expecting to see a 3-4-3 formation from Chelsea against Ajax tonight.
Conclusion
We’ve seen Frank Lampard use the 3-4-3 formation before and how he was rewarded an impressive victory for it. We are not saying it’s not flawed but the good in it is that the manager can find that flaw easily and then turn it around in his favor. With the situation on the ground right now, this formation might be the best way for Chelsea to play until the void caused by injuries are covered.
