Why Liam Rosenior chose a back five – and why it’s not as defensive as some are saying | OneFootball

Liam Rosenior’s team selection for tonight’s game has had some criticism – but there’s a very logical reason for it.

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Chelsea’s team for tonight’s game against Wrexham in the FA Cup is out, and the first things fans noticed was the presence of three central defenders in the team.

Barring someone playing out of position (perhaps Jorrel Hato in midfield?), this will mean a back five for the Blues. That’s a setup Liam Rosenior has used before, but in this case seems to be a choice down to the availability of personnel.

Rosenior wants to rest the bulk of his attackers for the PSG game in midweek, and he’s got more spare defenders than midfielders or attackers. Therefore it makes sense to use a formation which maximises the number of them in the team.

Rosenior takes a worthwhile risk with selection

Some have criticised this as a defensive setup considering we’re playing lower league opposition, but it doesn’t have to be. If wing backs Jorrel Hato and Josh Acheampong get forward, we should still be able to create plenty of threat.

Multiple central defenders to stop counter attacks should also allow Andrey Santos to crash the box more often.

There are also options on the bench that will easily allow him to remove a defender and put on a striker if he wants. Marc Guiu will be itching to get some minutes. To us, this looks like a sensible use of resources from Rosenior, who is making the correct call to prioritise the Champions League.

In other news…

You can see the full starting XI in the post here, with a full nine changes for the Blues.

Check out the latest edition of Simon Phillips’ SPTC podcast here: