Chelsea hosts Nuno Espirito Santo’s Wolverhampton as they fly high in their first Premier League season back. His tactics still look familiar.
Nuno Espirito Santo was a bit of a shock move when he went to Wolverhampton Wanderers. But the club had ambitions greater than the Championship and they were willing to back Santo to be the man. They backed him after promotion too but what they have achieved is simply something else.
Wolverhampton is not just the seventh placed team by luck. The expected stats show they are very much deserving of their position in the table. Europa League football will be dependent on other teams but it is highly likely for Santo’s men. He has put together a good side that can go toe to toe with any of the top six on the day.
Chelsea already lost to the Wolves once this season in a match they had little control in. Santo’s tactics remind of Antonio Conte’s Chelsea and their evolution has even followed similar trends. But more than that is that Santo has adapted as the league has this season and his side is a reflection of his opponents. This will not be easy by any means for Maurizio Sarri’s Chelsea.
Santo came into the league keeping the 3-4-3 that worked for them in the Championship. It worked in the Premier League too for a while but overtime Santo decided to put the shape into more of a 3-5-2 or 3-4-1-2. This follows a similar trend going around the Premier League right now and one that Chelsea has been undone by several times.
By changing the three up top to one in behind and two up top a few things happen. The two are suddenly allowed far more freedom to move around than a striker in the center of a three would be. The one in between can do a man marking job in midfield as a diamond is formed. Most sides have used this to make a 4-3-3/4-3-1-2 hybrid but Santo has used the same idea to change his 3-4-3 into a 3-4-1-2.
This works because most attackers now days are hybrid players. Strikers can play as wingers, wingers can play as attacking midfielders, attacking midfielders can play as strikers and any combination in between. With so many players good at so many things, it makes sense to allow them the freedom to adapt while also creating a stronger defensive shape.
This works so well against Chelsea because Jorginho is the playmaker most things go through. And since he is at the base of midfield, it is easy enough to mark him with an attacking midfielder and still outnumber the rest of the midfield three to two.
A way around this for Chelsea that worked against Tottenham is backing off a bit. If Chelsea presses up high against a diamond, there is a very high chance one of the two strikers will be able to get in behind and cause damage. But if Chelsea stays in front of those strikers, they can sniff out and stop the danger before it can begin. One drawback of the 1-2 attacking shape is that it relies a ton on being able to get in behind but cannot really create much on its own.
Wolves will likely try to sit deep before getting the ball to their attacking midfielder who will then look for the striker with the best space to attack. Chelsea’s zonal defense has been wrecked by that time and time again and Sarri will need to stay aware.
Santo is an incredibly intelligent manager who will push the Blues with a weaker squad. He will be looking to use a familiar strategy to claim another top six scalp. Sarri’s side must be at the top of their game to survive the fixture and take points.