Chelsea talking tactics: Wolverhampton and deviating from what works

Chelsea faces a Wolverhampton side that is trying to change to stay ahead of the curve. It echoes a lot of similarities at Chelsea.

Perhaps one of the hardest things to do in the game for a manager is knowing when to change things. For Wolverhampton, they adamantly stuck by three at the back following promotion because it is what worked for them. This season, they have tried to play more progressively to more firmly establish themselves into a top seven conversation. It is a change that might have been unnecessary and it has not been going well.

On the other side, Chelsea finally found a system that clicked in the 4-3-3 with dual eights. Should the loss to Everton change that? It shouldn’t but there is no such thing as a tactic that works on matchday one and continues to work on matchday 38. The difference between success and failure can often come down to knowing when to stick and when to twist.

It is interesting then that Wolves decided to twist when Chelsea decided to stick, and as the two face one another they may need to reverse those decisions. Wolves is mostly a form based question whereas Chelsea is a stagnation and injury related question. Can the game come down to who opts to make the right decision?

Nuno Espirito Santo wasn’t always a three at the back guy. At Porto and Valencia, he often went between a 4-4-2 and a 4-2-3-1. What those two formations share with a 3-4-3 is a natural tendency to play in wide areas. The teams would more or less create wide diamonds with the three deepest looking to complete rotations while the tip of the diamond waited for a chance to break free for a direct ball.

The recent change to 4-2-3-1 for Wolves isn’t all that out of character for Santo then, just his Wolves side. The main change in it is with the defensive shape being less packed at the back but wider in midfield and often with more numbers forward for a breakaway. It also allows for more numbers to get forward in possession.

All of this is mainly for Wolves to deal with smaller teams. Their buccaneering counter style works against juggernauts but it is much harder to convince a team like Burnley to come out to play. Of course, the effect of this change has been they are playing a less than comfortable style against the Burnley’s of the league while also playing a way that plays into the hands of juggernauts more than before.

For Chelsea it will be a matter of seeing the Everton loss as a blip or a crisis. The second league loss of the season should not be a matter of worry, but it had been coming for a week weeks as Chelsea’s goals and chance creation became more and more labored. With injuries to the wings, Lampard could opt for more of a 3-4-2-1 shape but whether or not it is necessary is the real question.

Wolves made a change this season that probably wasn’t necessary. The sign of a good team is to not jump too soon or too late, but at the exact right time. Lampard’s Chelsea has the choice to jump now or hold their ground, and the choice might be enough to determine the match.