Chelsea setback means Mauricio Pochettino must make vital tweaks to Newcastle United plan

Mauricio Pochettino shocked everybody last weekend against Brentford as he elected to go with a back-three for Chelsea.

Trevoh Chalobah, Axel Disasi and Levi Colwill started in a three-back formation for the Blues in their draw at the Gtech Community Stadium. Brentford consistently go with a three-at-the-back formation under Thomas Frank, but Pochettino said after the game that it was not necessarily to combat the Bees.

Asked by football.london his thinking behind playing three central defenders, Pochettino replied: «It was to try and provide the team a different way to play and to have an alternative in the way to use. We need to provide the midfield the possibility not to cover too much distance.

»[Conor] Gallagher didn't start against Leeds [a few days before] because he was very, very tired. Because players like [Romeo] Lavia was supposed to be a very good player, and of course Lesley Ugochukwu. They are injured and we don't have the possibility to refresh players that are in a key area. That is why to help them with another centre-back.

«It's always keeping our ideas going forward, but to try and provide them with more solid and the difference in transition and gives them more freedom and not too much responsibility.»

After that game against Brentford, not that Pochettino knew at the time, Colwill was holding a slight injury to his toes. The 21-year-old defender has been ruled out for Monday evening's Premier League meeting with Newcastle United, leaving Pochettino with a bit of a dilemma.

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If the Argentine wants to go with a three-back system