Mauricio Pochettino is ‘considering a radical tactical change in a bid to save Chelsea’s season’ after 4-2 defeat by Wolves leaves them languishing in bottom half

Mauricio Pochettino is reportedly considering drastic tactical upheaval to try and haul Chelsea‘s season back on track. 

The Blues have been rolling with a 4-2-3-1 formation but this has often left their centre-backs exposed.

Chelsea have shipped 39 goals this campaign, a record which is the seventh-worst in the Premier League.

A double whammy of four-goal defeats last week – 4-1 to Liverpool and 4-2 to Wolves – left the Blues looking frail and rattled at the back. 

Now the Evening Standard are reporting that Pochettino is considering switching to a three-man defence.

Chelsea’s defence were left exposed by their 4-2-3-1 formation against Wolves are they are leaking lots of goals 

‘We can’t give up and we are going to work hard to try and change, maybe take some decisions to find a different way,’ Pochettino said after the loss to Wolves. 

‘If it is not working this way, we need to move on and try to find a different type of solution.’ 

While Pochettino didn’t make explicit reference to a three-man formation, the Evening Standard claims he could pivot to a 3-4-3 – which he used sometimes at Tottenham – or a 3-5-2. 

Thiago Silva, Axel Disasi, Levi Colwill, Benoit Badiashile, and Trevoh Chalobah all have familiarity with three-man systems. 

One of the most iconic tactical switches in Premier League history came at Chelsea in 2016/17, when Antonio Conte scrapped his 4-1-4-1 and took up a 3-4-3.

Mid-way through a 3-0 defeat to Arsenal in September, Conte tried the switch and didn’t look back. From eighth at the end of that month, they topped the table in November and went on to win the title with 93 points.

Pochettino may hope to draw on that history and give his goalkeeper more protection. 

Antonio Conte brought a Premier League title to Chelsea after switching to a back three

Three centre-backs would allow Chelsea to keep their marauding full-backs such as Ben Chilwell and Malo Gusto happy while retaining more solidity.

Chelsea have their fair share of midfield enforcers. A fully fit defensive midfield contingent would see the likes of Moises Caicedo, Romeo Lavia, and Lesley Ugochukwu competing for space alongside their more attacking counterparts. 

A 3-5-2 could see Pochettino shield his backline with a rock-solid three in the middle but lose defensive freedom going forward, with questions for how the likes of Cole Palmer would fit into the system.