Liam Rosenior is preparing for the biggest test of his Chelsea career this week when they kick off their Champions League Round of 16 tie against PSG.
Rosenior helped the Blues turnaround their fortunes in Europe with two wins in the group stage that secured a guaranteed place in the Round of 16.
Their reward however is a tie with the current holders of the competition, and a side Chelsea have history with as a result of their eventful Club World Cup triumph over last summer.
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Chelsea vs PSG record
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Liam Rosenior could use back three for Chelsea vs PSG after success with Strasbourg
Rosenior has experience beating and drawing with PSG from his time at Strasbourg, and it is noticeable that both times he has got a result he utilised a back three formation.
The Ligue 1 side picked up a huge 2-1 win which set them up to qualify for the Conference League, where they are currently one of the favourites to win the competition.
Wrexham v Chelsea - Emirates FA Cup Fifth Round
Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images
Rosenior utilised a 3-4-2-1 on that day, a system that Chelsea fans have not seen much of since the new boss took over.
This is a system that he has used twice since moving to Stamford Bridge, with the most recent example being against Wrexham in the FA Cup.
There are likely to be plenty of changes to the starting side, including the entire backline, however there will be concerns at how much space Wrexham found themselves in when hitting Chelsea on the counter attack.
The other occurence came in unique circumstances in the EFL Cup semi-final second leg against Arsenal, where Chelsea were looking to hold their opponents to 0-0 for as long as possible, ultimately failing in their task.
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Changes expected in defence for Chelsea vs PSG
If Chelsea are to play a back three on Wednesday, very few of those who started against Wrexham have earned a place in the side for the Champions League clash.
Trevoh Chalobah and Wesley Fofana would be certainties to return to the back three. Their agility and dynamism would be very welcome in the back three.
The choices to join them in the backline are limited, but we would welcome a start for Benoit Badiashile to add a left-footed option, likely featuring next to Marc Cucurella upon his return to the side.
If Reece James returns to a back five, the midfield would likely be constructed of Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo, potentially with Andrey Santos if they are willing to give up some of their attacking impotence on the pitch.
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