FIFA 22 Chelsea Career Mode Guide: Starting Lineup and Who to sign

Chelsea seem to have settled into a winning formula under the guidance of Thomas Tuchel after a turbulent couple of seasons.

The Blues are the reigning European champions and are unsurprisngly one of the best teams to play with in FIFA 22.

Can you continue their good fortune when you take over as boss in FIFA 22's Career Mode? Here's all you need to know.

Team Rating

Chelsea have a five-star rating in FIFA 22, with an 84 attack, 85 midfield and 82 defence.

Starting Lineup and Formation

Chelsea's default formation is a 3-5-2, and true Chelsea fans may struggle to deviate from the system that led the Blues to the Champions League title last season.

Plus, it lets you get the most out of N'Golo Kante's legs in midfield - even if his OVR is knocked by -5 for playing CM rather than a CDM (really, EA?).

The other alternatives are some form of 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1, allowing you to play Kai Havertz or Mason Mount in their natural position.

Edouard Mendy is in goal, with the five-man defence consisting of Reece James, Cesar Azpilicueta, Thiago Silva, Antonio Rudiger, and Ben Chilwell.

N'Golo Kante and Jorginho provide the midfield partnership, with our front three involving Hakim Ziyech, Romelu Lukaku, and Timo Werner.

Expect Kai Havertz's rating to start improving massively (POT 92), so when he plays you could manually move the RW position to RF.

On the bench go for Kepa, Andreas Christensen, Marcos Alonso, Mateo Kovacic, Kai Havertz, Mason Mount and Christian Pulisic.

Tactics and instructions

The default for Chelsea isn't far off what you would require already, but a couple of adjustments can still be made.

Firstly, there is a new "Step Up" instruction for defenders' Defensive Position, and we've gone bold by issuing this on Antonio Rudiger, the most mobile of the three centre backs.

For N'Golo Kante we want to make the most out of his work rate in midfield, so we have put him on "Aggressive Interceptions", "Stay on Edge of Box for Cross", and "Cover Center" for defensive position.

As for Jorginho, go for "Stay Back while Attacking", "Stay on Edge of Box for Cross" and "Cover Center".

Now for the front three, Romelu Lukaku does not need to be touched (but definitely adjust when he is injured or rested), but for Hakim Ziyech you will want him to "Cut Inside" on Chance Creation and "Come Short" for Support Runs.

Lastly, you will want to make the most of Timo Werner's speed so change his Support Runs to "Get in Behind" and flick on "Get into the Box for Cross".

Development plans

As always look to target your young players in training, and making sure they have the right development plans can really boost your squad.

The likes of Reece James (POT 88), Mason Mount (POT 89), Callum Hudson-Odoi (POT 87), Ben Chilwell (POT 86) and Timo Werner (POT 87) are the high potential stars in your squad.

German star Kai Havertz (POT 92) is the star though, and we see his future as an out-and-out striker, so we would get him training for that role.

We also recommend adjusting N'Golo Kante if you want to play him in a two-man midfield as a CM to get the best out of him.

The Transfer Market

Starting transfer budget: £101 million

Starting wage budget: £698,000 a week

Who should go

Ross Barkley somehow stayed at the club over the summer, and the former Everton star should be the first name out the door. He should collect you around £16 million and free up £80,000 a week in wages.

The only other surefire sales involved Charly Musonda and Lewis Baker who can be sold for a combined £3 million, saving you £78,000 a week in wages.

Other sales are optional with youngsters Sam McClelland and George McEachran unlikely to make it to the top.

It may be tempting to sell Ruben Loftus-Cheek, but given a slight shortage in midfield, it is worth keeping the England international on the books.

Loans

Lucas Bergstrom and Josh Brooking can be loaned out for two years (at least) to see if his rating can improve, and if you choose not to sell McClelland, or McEachran - you should look to loan them out to another club.

Armando Broja, Billy Gilmour, Ethan Ampadu, and Connor Gallagher are all out currently out on loan and should fight for a place in the squad upon their return.

As for Jake Clarke-Salter, Matt Miazga, Baba Rahman, and Michy Batshuayi - look to sell them once their loan spells are up.

Keep tabs on Tiemoue Bakayoko and Emerson, as they could provide useful backup in the future.

Who to Sign

New transfer budget: £120 million

New wage budget: £856,000 a week

Right Back - youth or experience?

Cesar Azpilicueta and Reece James are two solid right back / wing back options, but if you are playing them both in a back five - you could find yourselves stretched when the Champions League and Carabao Cup matches roll around.

You must make a decision, do you go for a young understudy you can replace the 31-year-old Cesar Azpilicueta in a few years' time, or do you splash the cash and bring in a world-class right back to come into the first team?

Dani Carvajal is likely to be at the top of your list with the 85-rated right-back providing great balance on the right-hand side of defence.

You can pick the Spaniard up for around £54 million but with hefty wages of £180,000 a week.

Alternative options

World Class Centre Back

You may look at Chelsea's back three and see ratings of 83, 85 and 83, and wonder why you would need to replace any of them,

But remember that Thiago Silva has just turned 37 and Azpilicueta is really a full-back playing in there.

Bringing in one of the best centre backs in the world would improve the club's depth, allow you to send Chalobah and/or Sarr on loan, move Azpilicueta to right-back and allow you to play a more conventional back four.

Top of your list should be Marquinhos, who is likely to come in at a significant £88 million.

Yes the PSG skipper is expensive but his 87 rating has a potential of 90.

His wages should be around £116,000 a week.

Alternative options

Contracts

Your entire back three have their contracts running out at the end of the season, and you should definitely extend the deals of Antonio Rudiger and Cesar Azpilicueta.

Thiago Silva turns 37 early on in the season, so you may want to track his OVR for a couple of months before deciding on whether to offer him a new contract.

Your next centre back Andreas Christensen's deal is almost up too, so look to extend his contract as well.

Danny Drinkwater can be released at the end of the season, but you will have to make decisions on Emerson, Dujon Sterling, Jake Clarke-Salter, Tariq Uwakwe, George McEachran, Sam McClelland and Jos Brooking.

Board Expectations

Chelsea's demands are tough - but not impossible.

On our save, for Brand Exposure, we needed to score in 25 games (simple enough) and sign a veteran. This may force your hand into signing an experienced right-back, or perhaps you could just sign an ageing goalkeeper on the cheap.

For Domestic Success, we only needed to finish in the top four but were also expected to win the FA Cup - making that the priority for the season.

As for Continental Success, we were given the task of reaching the Champions League final.

Youth Development is a low priority, but we still needed to sign two players under the age of 20 with a potential higher than the current average of players in their position.

We suggest targeting left back and right back for this.

Lastly, your Financial goal will be to keep salary growth under 10%, so just be mindful when offering players new contracts.

Keep the Blue Flag Flying High

With Chelsea's business this summer - signing Romelu Lukaku, and bringing in Saul on loan, you now have the strength and depth to fight on all fronts.

With a big transfer budget to spend and young players continuing to improve, you could have an absolute footballing powerhouse within two seasons.

Difficulties will arise trying to keep your squad happy, and just make sure you have a plan B in attack if Lukaku is rested or unavailable.

Something special is happening at Stamford Bridge, make sure you're part of it.

Full Chelsea squad ratings