Kurt Zouma’s stats highlight the gap between Stoke’s 3-4-3 and Chelsea’s
By George Perry
Kurt Zouma will miss his first game of the Premier League season when Chelsea visit Stoke City on Saturday. His clearance and passing stats speak to the quality gap between Chelsea’s and Stoke’s version of the three-man defence.
Kurt Zouma has played every game as the right centre-back in Stoke’s 3-4-2-1. In addition to five Premier League games, he played the full 90 in the Carabao Cup loss to Bristol City. The game against Chelsea will be his first rest since coming off in the 60′ against Rochdale in Stoke’s Carabao Cup opener.
The similarities between Stoke’s tactics and Chelsea’s end with the formation. Whereas Chelsea and other top-of-the-table imitators use the three-man defence to launch a free-wheeling offence and counter-attack, Stoke use the 3-4-2-1 to still be Stoke. They are as defensively frustrating as ever, grinding out a 2-2 draw with Manchester United, a 1-1 draw with West Bromwich Albion and a 1-0 loss to Arsenal.
Two statistics from Kurt Zouma highlight the differences between how a defender executes a three-man defence at Chelsea and Stoke. Zouma averages 7.6 clearances per game. That is the seventh-highest in the Premier League, yet second on the team as Ryan Shawcross averages 10.3 per game. Zouma also averages 36.4 passes per game, the third-highest at Stoke.
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No Chelsea player has more than five clearances per game. Antonio Rudiger and Cesar Azpilicueta lead the Blues with just over four per game. Rudiger, like Zouma, has the third-highest number of passes per game at his club: 58. Cesar Azpilicueta, who plays the same position for Chelsea as Zouma does at Stoke, averages 64.6.
Kurt Zouma is playing the position of right centre-back in a three-man defence without learning how he will have to play that role under Antonio Conte. Zouma’s role at Stoke is to boot the ball clear of danger, and then brace for the next wave of attack. He is barely learning to pass the ball, let alone play out from the back.
Zouma is on par with his Chelsea counter-parts in the other fundamentals of defending. He averages 1.6 tackles and .6 interceptions per game, which are comparable to Azpilicueta and Rudiger. He also wins 2.8 aerial duels per game, which is somewhat expected given his size but is reassuring in light of his return from injury. Zouma’s record in the air slight edges Rudiger and far exceeds Gary Cahill, the two defenders who come closest to Zouma’s physicality.
Kurt Zouma’s return to Chelsea will further raise the competition among an already deep roster of centre-backs. His greatest challenge will be learning to play in a tactically sophisticated and technically demanding three-man defence. The main aspect will be developing patience, comfort and skill in possession. Chelsea average only 7% more possession than Stoke City but make 45% more passes.
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After a year at Stoke, Zouma will have to dedicate himself to superimposing the finer points of Antonio Conte’s system on the physical game for which he is so well-built. He will be watching the game with a close eye to see what he should be practicing and studying in his free time.