AllAboutChelsea

After all the hype that was given to dare I say ‘Sarri-ball’ ahead of the 2018-19 season, it was a campaign which flattered to deceive for Chelsea Football Club. The blues did go on to win the Europa League and also finished third in the league, but Maurizio Sarri neither convinced the fans with his style of play nor did he satisfy the decision makers at the club. As a result of which the Italian was allowed to leave the club in the summer.

It is often said that “It never rains but it pours”, and that is the situation Chelsea find themselves in ahead of the 2019-20 season. Not only did they lose their manager, they also lost their best player by a million miles in Eden Hazard to Real Madrid. Add to that, a transfer ban which prevents them from recruiting players this season, new manager Frank Lampard has got a really formidable job on his hands in what could be a transitional season for the club.

STYLE OF PLAY:

Under Maurizio Sarri, Chelsea played a 4-3-3 formation throughout the season with Jorginho as the pivot in midfield and N’golo Kante infamously deployed in a more advanced role.

However, under Frank Lampard Chelsea have reverted back to the 4-2-3-1 formation which has worked wonders for them in the past. Judging by the way Frank’s Derby side played in the championship, it would be safe to say that Chelsea fans could be in for some free flowing attacking football.

PRE SEASON FORM:

Having only won one of their first three games, the Blues have been in breathtaking form in the last three matches. In all, the west london side has won 4 out of 6 matches thus far, including an impressive win against Barcelona on Antoine Griezmann’s debut.

• 10 July Bohemians 1 – 1 Chelsea
• 13 July ST Patrick’s 0-4 Chelsea
• 19 July Kawasaki Frontale 1-0 Chelsea
• 23 July Barcelona 1-2 Chelsea
• 28 July Reading 3-4 Chelsea
• 31 July RB Salzburg 3-5 Chelsea

PLAYER INS AND OUTS:

Chelsea were involved in the biggest transfer saga of the summer thus far with Eden Hazard departing to Real Madrid for 100 million euros. The Belgian almost single-handedly carried the blues last season. Following his departure, the onus now shifts on the new recruit Christian Pulisic and teenage academy product Callum Hudson-Odoi.

Pulisic joined Chelsea in January 2019, but was sent out on loan back to Dortmund until the end of the 2018-19 season. The American brings a much needed flair to the attack. The blues also signed Mateo Kovacic permanently for 45 million euros.

All eyes though will be on Chelsea ‘s young stars who have come back from loan spells. The likes of Mason Mount, Tammy Abraham and Reece James were absolutely sensational in the championship, while Kurt Zouma had a coming of age season on loan at Everton. Whether they carry that form into this season remains to be seen, if they do so, the blues would be well placed to tackle the transfer ban.

FPL FAN FAVOURITES FROM LAST SEASON:

As far as popular picks from Chelsea is concerned, one man stood out, Eden Hazard. The mercurial Belgian was involved in nearly half of Chelsea’s goals, contributing 16 goals and 15 assists which helped him acquire 238 points through the course of the season.

Other good performances from Chelsea came from the defensive trio of David Luiz, Cesar Azpilicueta and Marcos Alonso. Chelsea kept 16 clean sheets in the 2018-19 campaign, a number which was only bettered by the top two.

3 MUST OWN PLAYERS FROM CHELSEA THIS SEASON:

1.CESAR AZPILICUETA 6.0MIL

Having started all but 2 games across the last 4 seasons, ‘Dave’ as he is termed as by his teammates, is Chelsea’s most dependable player without a shadow of a doubt. The Spaniard has provided 6 assists in each of his last two seasons and has also proven to be a bit of a goal threat in the recent past. Furthermore, given the fact that Chelsea have a relatively comfortable run of games in the first third of the season, the full back may well turn out to be a sensible pick.

2.ROSS BARKLEY 6.0MIL

The England international has had a phenomenal preseason to say the least, scoring 3 goals and assisting 3 more of them in the matches that he has played. The 25-year old seems to be enjoying his new ‘number-10’ role given to him by Lampard, and this season might well be a turning point in his career. Notably, Barkley has taken most of the set pieces for Chelsea, including penalties.

3. CHRISTIAN PULISIC 7.5 MIL:

The USMNT player most certainly has big boots to fill at Chelsea, but he is more than capable of doing just that. The 20-year old enjoyed a dream run in the CONCACAF Gold Cup this summer, picking up 3 goals and 3 assists in the competition which helped his country be the runners up. Pulisic also went on to win the Young player of the tournament award.

Since joining Chelsea in their preseason, Pulisic has hit the ground running, scoring 2 goals in as many matches and also winning a penalty along the way. At just 7.5 mil, the winger could be just the type of bargain you are looking for from a top six club.

DIFFERENTIALS:

Despite the fact that Chelsea finished third last season, one glaring weakness in their team was a lack of a goal-scoring striker. Tammy Abraham could well be given an opportunity in the first team this season, the striker scored 26 goals in the championship for Aston Villa last season.

Another potential differential option from Chelsea is Mason Mount. Much like his colleague, he too enjoyed a fabulous campaign in the second tier last year for Derby, scoring 9 goals and assisting 4 more. The youngster has been in impressive form in the preseason too, notching up 3 goals in 6 matches.

Players to avoid:

Marcos Alonso has been one of the stand out defenders for FPL teams since joining Chelsea. However, with Emerson moving up in the pecking order, the Spaniard is a must not have from Chelsea. Other players like Willian and Giroud are two more players whom you must look beyond as their places in the starting eleven are anything but guaranteed.

ALLABOUTFPL VERDICT:

Despite having a transfer ban, Chelsea’s squad looks well settled and has enough depth to cope up with both European football and the league. Given the fact that they have an extremely kind run of games to start off the new campaign, it would be a bad idea to not have at least one Chelsea player in your side, if not two.