FM20 Team Guide & Tactic - Chelsea

Here is a brief team guide of the Chelsea squad in FM20, their club structure, relationship any potential managers will have with the board, expectations and possible tactics any FM manager can use.

Here is a brief club analysis of the Chelsea squad in FM20, their club structure, relationship any potential managers will have with the board, expectations and possible tactics any FM manager can use.

About the club

Firstly, Chelsea are a champion side with very high expectations and ambitions. They are the only English team to have won the league the English Premier League, UEFA Champions league and the Europa League in the last decade.

With dominance come expectations and the Chelsea board and owner expect big things from any manager. In all previous versions of FM as with real life, the owner of Chelsea, Roman Abramovich is a passionate owner who is not afraid to pump in money to the club but expects big returns. His volatile and trigger happy nature means that if you have a slow start to your managerial career you run the risk of being sacked.

The board's expectations

Chelsea is also in the Champions League this season, so the minimum requirements from the board would be;

1. A top 4 league finish (automatic qualification to the champions league)
2. A r8< finish at the UEFA Champions league
3. A F< finish in the FA cup

The owner will ask you to play entertaining attacking possession based football as a bonus requirement. There will obviously be no transfer budget owing to the transfer ban but once the ban is lifted the club will definitely reward managers with a substantial budget.

In Chelsea's club culture are the following needs to be meet to please the board; sign players under the age of 22 for the future, develop players using the club's youth system and also try to sign high-reputation players.

In your 5 year plan you'll also have to sign young players to develop for profit, and you'll be restricted to a maximum one-year contracts for players over the age of 30.

The club are also blessed with excellent training facilities and a very solid youth setup that churns out league ready players every season. There is lot of room for development with the stadium too as it has comparatively a small capacity for the club of the stature of Chelsea.

Squad, Formation and Tactical Style

The Transfer ban could just be a blessing in disguise as in real life with the Chelsea squad boasting of some of the best young talent in the game. Despite the departure of world class Eden Hazard, Chelsea are a strong squad.

There are quite a few tactical setups you could deploy with Chelsea, however the best suited ones will be controlled possession/vertical Tiki Taka. This should provide the fast paced attacking football the board demands and could make use of all the fine attacking talent at your disposal. However, against quality attacks or tough away games, one could go with a fluid counter attack or wing play.

A 4-3-3 DM or a 4-2-3-1 could be the best suited formation for the available squad and your selected tactic. Alternatively, a 3-5-1-1 or a 5-3-2 could be useful against tougher opposition.

A rough example of what your line-up would look like in a 4-3-3 formation is as follows,

• Kepa Arizzabalaga as a sweeper keeper
• Azpilicueta as a Right Back, Christensen as a Ball Playing Defender with cover role, Antonio Rudiger as a Central Defender and Emerson as a Left Back with increasing crossing instructions.
• Jorginho to play as a defensive midfielder in a deep lying midfielder (Defend) role or a regista role.
• Kante as a Box to Box midfielder or a ball winning midfielder depending on your preference & Kovacic/Reuben Loftus Cheek as a box to box midfielder or a playmaker.
• Willian as the right winger and Callum Hudson Odoi on the left wing as an inside forward.
• Tammy Abraham as a lone forward in a deep lying forward role or as a complete forward.

Alternatively, when you change to a 4231 you can use Mason Mount as the no:10, in a central attacking midfielder position and when you deploy 2 strikers, Olivier Giroud is always a reliable target man who will win you most aerial crosses.

Key Players

1. Ngolo Kante



Probably one of the best central midfielders in the world and in the game too. He has a very high interception and tackle rating making him the perfect player to win you balls with a press.

2. Jorginho



World class defensive midfielder with high passing and vision rating, he will also sweep up many loose balls and help in retrieving possession.

3. Callum Hudson Odoi



Perfect replacement for Eden Hazard on the left wing, the player’s performance and interest from other clubs are bound to give him a very high Potential Ability in game and could be one of the best wonderkids in FM20

4. Mason Mount



Scored more than 15 goals for Derby from Midfield last season and could be the surprise package in FM 20. The most Lampardesque player in Chelsea could be a world beater under the right manager

Weaknesses

1. Key players such as Rudiger, Zouma, Loftus Cheek are injury prone and could lose a few months of action every season.
2. The lack of quality upfront with the strikers combined with the transfer ban meaning that area can’t be strengthened could be a major thorn in most managers’ paths.
3. This is overall a very young squad and could take a few seasons for the youngsters to hit their prime.

Youngsters to keep an eye on

There are a few exciting young prospects in the ranks or on loan who have the potential to be some of the best players in the league. A few examples are,

• Reece James (RB, CM)
• Ethan Ampadu (CB, CDM) on loan at RB Leipzig
• Faustino Anjoring (CAM,CM)
• Ian Maatsen (LB)

FM20 Chelsea summery

To Summarise, Chelsea is a solid squad for most managers but it is also an exciting challenge to help their young stars reach their potential. If you’re determined to overcome the volatility of the board years of success could await you.