Why The Back-three Defense Of Koulibaly, Silva and Azpilicueta Might Not Work Against Tottenham

Thomas Tuchel went for a back-three Defense set-up made up of old and veteran Defenders against Everton during Chelsea’s opening game of the 2022/23 Season last weekend at Goodison Park.

Kalidou Koulibaly made his Premier league debut for the Blues and started in the Left Centre-back, Thiago Silva started in the Central Centre-back while Cesar Azpilicueta played Right Central-back position.

The addition of Kalidou Koulibaly and Marc Cucurella to the Chelsea squad has added more reinforcement to Chelsea Defense this season but the club are still looking for options in the Right Central-back position with negotiation going on with Leicester City over Wesley Fofana.

Cesar Azpilicueta and Trevoh Chalobah are the only natural Right Central-back in the Chelsea squad but Cesar Azpilicueta has passed his prime while Trevoh Chalobah is still learning.

Reece James would perform better than the duo in the Right Central-back position but that would be affecting Chelsea in the offense as the Cobham academy graduate is one of the most creative Players at Chelsea, and playing deep in the heart of the defense at the Right Central-back is going to prevent him from contributing to the Offense.

However, this is what Thomas Tuchel would have to do as Chelsea prepares to host Tottenham Hotspurs at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.

Kalidou Koulibaly and Thiago Silva are fit and are both expected to return to the starting lineup against Tottenham but Chelsea will have more chance in subduing the attacking threat of Spurs with Reece James playing in the Right Central-back.

Heung-Min Son is quick on his feet and fast with the ball, it would be a great risk to have Cesar Azpilicueta man-marking the South Korean Left Winger on Sunday. Instead, Reece James should play with Kalidou Koulibaly and Thiago Silva in the defense.