What Chelsea fans should expect from Liam Rosenior's first match vs Charlton

Cameron Smith

• Updated: 9 Jan 2026 06:21 CST
• 5 min read

Analysis

Liam Rosenior will take charge of his first match as Chelsea head coach on Saturday night when his side travel to Charlton Athletic in the FA Cup third round.

The Blues head into the match without a win in their last five matches and they have slipped down to eighth place in the Premier League table amid their recent downturn in form over the festive period.

Rosenior was in the stands for Chelsea’s 2-1 defeat to west London rivals Fulham on Wednesday night, with Calum McFarlane in interim charge, and he led his first training session on Thursday.

The Blues’ clash versus Charlton is their first of 10 matches over the next 33 days, meaning Rosenior will have very little time on the training pitch to implement his preferred style of play and build-up patterns.

Furthermore, the plethora of fixtures on the horizon suggests that Rosenior may opt to field a second-string XI versus Charlton, especially as Nathan Jones’ side are currently 19th in the Championship, having picked up just one win in their last 11 league games.

What Chelsea fans can expect against Charlton?

Rosenior is unlikely to rip up the script upon his arrival at Stamford Bridge and there are certainly parallels between how he likes his teams to play and the style favoured by his predecessor Enzo Maresca.

However, he has admitted that he wants Chelsea fans “to be off their seat in the first 10 minutes” of every match they play, and his first task will be to oversee a comfortable cup victory on Saturday.

Rosenior has displayed a great level of tactical flexibility during his short managerial career to date and he therefore isn’t welded to one specific formation, unlike Maresca. Furthermore, the shape Chelsea may deploy in possession is expected to look vastly different to their out-of-possession base.

With the ball, Chelsea are likely to use the same 3-2-2-3 shape that Maresca preferred during his tenure, although Rosenior has typically favoured his deep-lying midfield duo to be central midfielders rather than inverted full-backs.

Against Charlton, this could mean that Reece James and Andrey Santos provide a solid partnership in midfield, with Jorrel Hato tucking into a central defensive role from left-back and Malo Gusto providing width on the right. This would allow Estevao Willian to drift infield from the flank and cause havoc in the inside-right channel.

Tosin Adarabioyo is likely to retain his place at centre-back due to the fact he remains behind Wesley Fofana and Trevoh Chalobah in the Premier League pecking order, and he could be accompanied by academy starlet Josh Acheampong. In possession, this would mean Acheampong would be deployed on the right, Tosin in the middle and Hato on the left of the back three.

Liam Delap looks to be getting back to his best, so he may be rested for Arsenal on Wednesday, with Joao Pedro instead tasked with leading the line. Loanee Facundo Buonanotte could continue his run of starting every cup match so far this term in a No.10 role.

When defending, Rosenior typically likes to use a back five, with a winger often dropping into a wing-back role to make this possible. Pedro Neto is the obvious player to fill this role at Chelsea, but he needs a rest against Charlton and summer signing Alejandro Garnacho may therefore be called upon on the left.

In a similar vein to Maresca’s Chelsea, Strasbourg often struggled to break down deep blocks under Rosenior and this is a problem he must fix following his arrival in west London, especially considering Charlton are likely to deploy this tactic on Saturday.

They have averaged just 42% possession in the Championship so far this season, the second-lowest of any team in the division, and Chelsea will therefore expect to dominate territory on Saturday.

As a result, Filip Jorgensen may be required to fulfil a similar role to Mike Penders when Chelsea have the ball, with Rosenior often asking his goalkeeper to become a central defender in possession. This can help create overloads, although it’s a risky tactic and Blues fans should be aware that it may be implemented this weekend.

All in all, Chelsea may look fairly similar in possession against Charlton, but Rosenior will urge his squad to play with more intensity and pace than they have typically shown against lesser opponents this season, with the aim of exciting fans via attacking football.

Chelsea predicted XI vs Charlton

GK: Filip Jorgensen

RB: Malo Gusto

CB: Josh Acheampong

CB: Tosin Adarabioyo

LB: Jorrel Hato

CM: Reece James

CM: Andrey Santos

RW: Estevao

CAM: Facundo Buonanotte

LW: Alejandro Garnacho

ST: Joao Pedro

The FootballTransfers app

Check out FootballTransfers' new app for all of football's big storylines, transfer rumours and exclusive news in one convenient place directly on your mobile device.

The FootballTransfers app is available in the Apple App Store. Download here:

•App Store