In the space of several weeks, Chelsea's defensive options have suddenly looked pretty thin. Wesley Fofana and Kalidou Koulibaly have both gone down injured, with the latter hopefully absent no longer than Tuesday evening's clash with Red Bull Salzburg after missing the Manchester United game.
Reece James' knee injury has also made Graham Potter's task of forming a more consistent Chelsea team a trickier task, whilst N'Golo Kante's hamstring surgery only heightens the importance of new midfield additions in the upcoming transfer window.
Potter has mainly stuck with a three-at-the-back system since replacing Thomas Tuchel. There have been two notable exceptions in the wins over Crystal Palace and Wolves, where the Blues played a 4-2-2-2 and 4-2-3-1. But even in the Wolves game, Marc Cucurella would naturally slot into a left centre-back role when required.
