Thomas Tuchel has admitted that his side are struggling to create and attack with any kind of real threat right now after they only managed one shot on target against Brentford and just five attempts on goal.
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Whilst he says he has trust in his players to step up and provide this, he acknowledges that their creativity must improve. There are many reasons why this has slipped, and you could debate the current form of our attacking players, the line up, the system, the lack of bravery from the players, or the lack of any world class creative types such as Kevin De Bruyne or Mo Salah.
However, one simple solution would be to play with a 4-3-3 formation, which instantly adds an extra attacking player in the starting line up.
To use this formation though can be risky against teams with quality all over the park and in attack, such as Manchester City, so it might not be suitable for every game. But when we are bossing possession, controlling a game, and struggling to break down a defensive low-block, a 4-3-3 would be ideal, and here is how they could line up with it.
The back four would be a big debate, but you’d have Reece James and Cesar Azpilicueta for the right back role, then Thiago Silva, Antonio Rudiger, Trevoh Chalobah, and Andreas Christensen all for the centre back roles, and Ben Chilwell would be the main pick at left back over Marcos Alonso.
In midfield you could put Jorginho at the base, or even Ruben Loftus-Cheek, proving he can play there at the weekend, and ahead of them you need two players in attacking 8 positions who are good going forward. Whilst Mateo Kovacic and N’Golo Kante can do a great job there, they don’t really bring the attacking threat needed to make the most out of this formation. So I’d maybe have one of them alongside Mason Mount or Kai Havertz.
Then in attack Romelu Lukaku in the centre then two wide attackers of either Timo Werner, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Kai Havertz, or Christian Pulisic.
I feel this would set us up to be a much better attacking unit.
But I think the only way you can use this formation as a mainstay is if you had a solid defensive midfielder that emphasises on the defensive aspects to cover the two attacking 8s.
It’s certainly something to think about going forward for Tuchel, who I know has played a 4-3-3 before and other variations of the four at the back.
