Antonio Conte was mightily pleased with Chelsea’s fighting 1-1 scoreline at Anfield. He pointed out that the Blues had to cope up with the congested fixture list and despite coming back from Azerbaijan so late on Thursday morning, his team managed to not only prepare but had a chance to win on Saturday night. Conte had all the right reasons to be happy as the match was very evenly balanced with Chelsea looking like the side more likely to snatch all 3 points.
He had to use the likes of Eden Hazard, Tiemoue Bakayoko, N’Golo Kante, Marcos Alonso, Davide Zappacosta and Cesar Azpilicueta again despite the players starting the midweek game against Qarabag. More importantly, all the players barring Bakayoko performed well and did not let the Italian down.
However, the crux of the matter remains that the final scoreline was 1-1. Hence, Conte, despite being happy with the team spirit, must also be realizing that the title just slipped a little further away. Chelsea began the weekend nine points adrift of Manchester City and now stand a solid eleven points behind Pep Guardiola’s team.
The task that was already looking unlikely just became improbable. Catching up with Manchester City should now become a secondary objective and instead, Chelsea should focus on the chasing pack of Liverpool, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur behind them all of whom will be fighting for the Champions League spots.
The Blues go into the midweek clash knowing that clinching the three points is a must. They will be facing a struggling Swansea City team at home and hence winning the match is a must thing to do.
Here is how Conte will look to shape his team for the match.
Formation: 3-4-3
Defence
Thibaut Courtois is expected to continue in goal. The three man defence is likely to be Gary Cahill, David Luiz and Antonio Rudiger.
Marcos Alonso will be expected to continue in the left wing back position once again with Victor Moses expected to make a comeback after his six week lay-off.
Midfield
Cesc Fabregas is expected to be restored to the starting line-up after coming off the bench for the Liverpool match. He is likely to get a new partner in the form of Danny Drinkwater in the centre of the park.
Attack
Conte would ideally move back to his three forward system just for this match. Willian is expected to start on the left flank with Pedro on the right and Alvaro Morata starting up top for the Blues.
