Chelsea battle it out with brothers in blue Leicester City. Do not expect a great match with Claude Puel’s tactics on the other end.
If a club is in midtable, Puel is an excellent choice for manager. He has a proven track record of making teams “the best of the rest” if given enough time. But anything more than that is out of his reach.
Puel is not boring in the same way that Sam Allardyce or Tony Pulis are boring. He is just boring in general. His teams rarely play exciting stuff but grind out wins and fly up the table. But even being best of the rest is difficult for fans to ignore. Once his teams peak, they stay where they are and the style of play becomes unforgivable as the club bangs against their ceiling.
This match will not be pretty. Leicester and Puel will make sure of that. But Maurizio Sarri’s tactics, if played correctly, should be able to find the holes in Leicester’s set up in pursuit of a win.
Leicester’s 4-4-2 of their title winning season has slowly morphed into a 4-2-3-1 that they still use. The only big difference comes from Demarai Gray and James Maddison who can create and filter the ball towards Jamie Vardy.
Defensively, the 4-2-3-1 quickly turns into a 4-4-1-1 or 4-4-2. They will look to contain the opponent and soak up pressure. A mistake in a pass will allow them to win back possession and move the ball quickly on to their wingers or Maddison.
Offensively, they will live off counters through their band of three. Maddison has breathed new life into that style and Gray has grown into a similar role from wide. Really, the entire front four and the fullbacks are perfectly suited to a counterattacking style.
Their strengths usually show up in being underestimated. On paper, few teams are going to be afraid of Leicester. But they will often ignore that Gray and Maddison, despite being young, are quite good at what they do. And with Vardy up top, Leicester’s counters can be deadly and happen in the blink of an eye.
While Leicester is good at absorbing pressure, they are not so good at smart teams that know how to break through their set up. Through balls can take out lines of players and Leicester is often unable to adapt quickly enough. Also, a player like Eden Hazard who can turn on a dime will tear their set up to bits if they are not fully prepared.
This match will be like a lot of matches where the opponent sits deep and looks to counter. It would not be surprising to see Chelsea break past 1000 passes and maybe even 70 percent or more possession. But if the Blues are not testing Leicester with through balls and dribbles, it will not matter much.
The back line should be prepared for a lot of counters. Chelsea has been switching off for stretches this season and a team like Leicester is likely hoping for that. Chelsea must not rest on their laurels if they go ahead because that is exactly when Leicester will strike back. Mentality, as ever, is crucial to earning all three points.