Tim Sherwood’s brutal Graham Potter verdict after strange tactics in 2-0 Aston Villa defeat

Tim Sherwood has piled pressure on under-fire manager Graham Potter by questioning his decision to start Reece James in central defence while Badiashile was on the bench in the defeat to Villa.

Potter opted for a 3-4-3 system that had James as one of his central defenders with midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek at right wing-back.

That tactical decision backfired with visitors Villa winning 2-0 and going above Chelsea into the top 10 of the league table.

Sherwood who was working on the game told Premier League Production: “I cannot understand why Reece James is not playing as a right wing-back.

“You’ve got Badiashile on the bench, why’s he not playing? Because it makes it more solid. They look a threat on the counter, Aston Villa.

“The most offensive player they have is Ben Chilwell. He’s given them the width, he’s playing high up the field, they’ve just got to force that ball in there time and time again and they’re just not doing it, look at the frustration. He’s got a good delivery, he’s a threat.

“This should be a threat on the right side as well but unfortunately it’s not because you’ve got Reece James playing as a right-sided centre-back instead of a right wing-back.

“For me he has to be there, you’ve taken away a lot of what Reece James gives you, which is an offensive threat.”

Chelsea have lost and failed to score in four Premier League home games this season - that has only happened twice before since the competition’s 1992 inception - in 1994-95 and 2019-20 with Graham Potter increasing unpopular.