RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 24: Joao Pedro, Morgan Rogers and Cole Palmer of Chelsea celebrate the after winning the Premier League 2026/27 match between Fulham and Chelsea FC at Craven Cottage on August 24, 2026 in London, England. (Photo by Nigel French/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty Images) | Getty Images
In just a few short hours, after a power nap or two, Chelsea will be taking on Brighton & Hove Albion at Stamford Bridge. It will be game number two of the Premier League season, both teams coming in off wins on opening weekend, Chelsea narrowly over Fulham, 3-2 and Brighton not so narrowly over Aston Villa, 4-0.
Xabi Alonso may have a preference for a back-three, but he’s been fairly fluid with formations overall. Things morph and move around. Standard formation notations aren’t really cut out for the modern game. That said, the WAGNH Community overwhelmingly prefer the back-three look.
And there’s strong consensus on two of that back-three in Maxence Lacroix and Levi Colwill. Similarly, there is very strong consensus on the front-three, in JP, Morgan, and the guy who doesn’t like the JP Morgan nickname for that trio. Reece James is also a nailed-on starter. But there’s a steep drop after him for the last four starters, though in Caicedo’s case, that’s surely just due to his uncertain fitness status.
Oh, and it’s Big Mike in goal.
3-4-3 / 3-4-2-1 (86%) Penders (76%) | Colwill (92%), Lacroix (98%), James (87%) | Hato (47%), Lavia (54%), Caicedo (55%), Gusto (51%) | Rogers (97%), Palmer (96%) | João Pedro (98%)
Josh Acheampong (45%), Pep Chavarría (42%), Wesley Fofana (41%), and Valentín Barco (34%) also came very close, though I expected a bit more for Barco after his Man of the Match showing midweek. Pedro Neto (23%) remains far off the pace, along with Estêvão (13%). Enzo Fernández managed just 11% as he continues to write a new chapter in his Chelsea legacy.
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