Options up front for Man Utd

Chelsea recently faced NK Maribor in the Champions League and to the Blues absolutely obliterated the Slovenians. Eden Hazard ran them to the ground with his skill and pace, Kurt Zouma helped John Terry keep another clean sheet, Petr Cech made a couple of excellent saves, and Loïc Remy even managed to score his first Champions League goal ever before he had to be substituted out, but the sad part is that Remy, somehow managed to pull his groin in the process. After the match the Chelsea FC twitter account stated that Mourinho had said the following:

Now many fans may panic or cry at this statement, but fear not, Chelsea have played without a striker ever since Torres joined. The attacking trio of Hazard, Willian, and Oscar are used to not having a striker. Chelsea has only recently been accustomed to having a real striker in Diego Costa or Remy, but without them what can Mourinho do for the upcoming match concerning the ‘9’ position?

Solutions

1) Play either Didier Drogba or Dom Solanke up top

Drogba and Solanke are both on the opposite end of the age spectrum when it comes to football. Downside of playing Drogba is that he is now slow(er) than he was in his prime and his reactions and movements are less agile or quick; however, Drogba does bring a lot of experience to the team and know exactly what Jose Mourinho wants of him. On the other hand, Solanke is young and quick and is not afraid to take on a defender in a 1v1 situation; however Solanke may not be able to handle the pressure of starting in such an important match(even though Manchester United don’t have the best defense in the Premier League right now). Mourinho may opt to start Drogba and if he proves to be ineffective then let Solanke get a go against the United backline.

Chelsea FC v NK Maribor - UEFA Champions League

2) Start Schürrle up top

Andre Schürrle is no stranger to the number 9 role and is more than capable of fulfilling it. The German international played as a number ‘9’ for Bayer Leverkusen and also for his current club, Chelsea. He played there vs PSG when Mourinho started him over both Fernando Torres and Demba Ba, although Schürrle did not have his best performance that night does not mean that he cannot play there. He could also start up top as a false ‘9’ as well if the Portuguese manager opts to line up his team in 4-3-3 with a false ‘9’.

3) Play Fabregas as a false 9

If Mourinho decides to go without the experience of Drogba, the youth of Solanke, or the speed of Schürrle up front then he may decide to deploy his team in a 4-3-3 formation with a false ‘9’, as stated previously. If Ramires or Mikel are fit to play then they could certainly slide into the midfield three and fill in the gap that either Fabregas or Oscar would leave if they are chosen to be the false ‘9’. Fabregas is no stranger to this role as he played successfully in it while at Barcelona. Whenever Messi was absent from the Barcelona squad, Cesc would assume the role of the Argentinian and would even excel at it. He would create space for the wingers and contribute to the attacks as well, but with Fabregas pulling the strings as a number 8, Chelsea would lack the threat he creates from there. Oscar is also an option, but it is extremely unlikely.

Chelsea v Swansea City - Premier League

The Stamford Bridge club may not have a true striker to field this weekend vs United, but the Red Devils have also conceded 12 goals in eight matches, five of which were conceded against Leicester-a newly promoted team. Furthermore, as long as Hazard, Oscar, or Fabregas can create chances to score, then it won’t matter if it is Drogba, Solanke, or Schürrle who finishes off the play-as long as the ball ends up in the back of the net of course.

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