What tactics can be expected as Jose Mourinho and Frank Lampard face off for the second time this season? What can Chelsea do against Tottenham?
This Sunday, Chelsea take on Tottenham Hotspur in what is potentially the most intriguing match of the season so far. The two London sides are the most in form teams in the country right now, bar the unstoppable force that is Liverpool, so their match up promises to be fascinating.
The teams sit second and third in the table respectively and their strong starts have caused fans to start murmuring about a title challenge that seemed unlikely at the start of the year. If either side comes out of Sunday victorious, these murmurs will grow far louder.
Chelsea did the double over Jose Mourinho’s side last season but the tactical approach from the Blues this time round will be vastly different. In December last year, Frank Lampard surprised everyone by opting for a back three consisting of Fikayo Tomori, Antonio Rudiger and Kurt Zouma at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. It was the first time the Blues had used this system in a while and it clearly surprised Mourinho, as Chelsea ran out comfortable 2-0 winners. Lampard, less surprisingly, repeated the trick in the match at Stamford Bridge and once again Chelsea ran out comfortable victors.
It would be surprising to see Lampard go down this route again, though. Ever since they switched to a 4-3-3, Chelsea have been sensational. Crucially, this formation has made Chelsea adept in areas they will need to be strong in order to overcome Mourinho’s Tottenham side.
There will be no surprises from Tottenham tactically, Mourinho has a big-game-plan which he never diverges from. The good thing from a Chelsea point of view is that they recently carried out this plan against Manchester City, meaning Lampard and company have a clear blue print to work against. You know how they’ll play; the challenge is how to deal with it.
Mourinho will line his side up in a 4-3-3 shape and sit deep, looking to hurt Chelsea on the counter attack. Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Moussa Sissoko will patrol in front of the back four, with either Giovanni Lo Celso or Tanguy Ndombele playing in front of them.
This deep midfield makes them incredibly tough to break down, but also stunts their attacking creativity. Tottenham are at their most dangerous on the counter attack. This is how they score most of their goals. Harry Kane, who will form part of the front three with Son Heung-Min and one of Steven Bergwijn or Lucas Moura, is currently the best player in the Premier League, and his ability to drop into midfield and find the forward runs of Son means they are lethal in transition.
This was perfectly demonstrated in the match against Manchester City. The City centerbacks didn’t know whether to go with Kane into midfield, meaning he was often dropping deep and getting the ball unchallenged, and then his use of the ball is superb. Kane knew when to hold on to the ball and when to release it, he perfectly chose when to dribble and when to pass. And then his quality was always amazing, for example with his assist to Giovanni Lo Celso which was perfectly weighted.
However, if Kane is the perfect virus in attacking transitions, Chelsea has the vaccine. N’Golo Kante is a one-man machine when it comes to stopping counter attacks. Chelsea last season were noticeably poor at defending against quick transitions because Jorginho was often the deepest lying midfielder and he simply cannot defend large spaces. Since Chelsea have moved Kante to this position, though, the problem has been much less prominent. Lampard will hope that Kante can limit how much Kane can get on the ball with his trademark intercepting ability, and when the Englishman does get the ball, he in theory should never have time to turn and hurt Chelsea as Kante will always be close by.
In addition to this expect to see Mason Mount and Mateo Kovacic as they fill in the spaces behind Reece James and Ben Chilwell meaning the team shape is solid and balanced at all times.
Lampard has often moved to a back three in big games to give Chelsea an extra defensive body to make the side more secure, but this frequently takes the edge away from the side in an attacking sense. This would be a mistake on Sunday, therefore, as Chelsea will need to be at their best going forward in order to break down what promises to be a very stubborn Tottenham defence.
The variation the 4-3-3 gives Chelsea in attack is frightening. The center midfielders can push up the pitch and help create overloads which are nearly impossible to defend. Against Sheffield United, for example, Hakim Ziyech had Reece James and Kovacic making runs in front of him. This meant he could find James on the overlap, play Kovacic in behind or swing a cross in himself. Sheffield United couldn’t stop all these options at once.
This variation in attack will be crucial to breaking Tottenham down, and Lampard must be bold enough to trust in the system that the Blues have been so solid in. It allows them to defend transitions and still have a varied attack. A move to a back three would most likely see a repeat of Chelsea’s dire draw at Old Trafford, but this is a chance for Lampard’s men to make a real statement.
Liverpool might look unstoppable at the moment, but a Chelsea win on Sunday and their fans will begin to dream.