Chelsea vs Tottenham: Tuchel versus Conte in clash of tactical titans

Chelsea is no stranger to facing off against former managers. The Blues have had 14 different bosses during Roman Abramovich’s time as the owner of the club, many of which went on to have successful careers elsewhere. They now prepare to face their third former manager in the Premier League this season in Tottenham Hotspur’s Antonio Conte (they’ve already taken on Everton‘s Rafael Benitez and Watford’s Claudio Ranieri).

As if one of the fiercest London derbies needed any added fire, the Don makes his return to Stamford Bridge for the first time since his sacking in the summer of 2018. Both Conte and Chelsea’s current boss, Thomas Tuchel, have built reputations for being some of the most tactically astute managers in world football. They will meet for the first time on Wednesday. The Carabao Cup semifinal feels like the main event on a marquee fight card. SW6 will play host to the first of three match-ups between the two historic rivals this month, the headliner being the brain bout between Conte and Tuchel on the touchline.

Chelsea versus Tottenham Hotspur in the Carabao Cup will give fans a clash of the tactical titans with Thomas Tuchel and Antonio Conte

In a weird way, Conte and Tuchel’s stints at Chelsea have been relatively similar. Both eventually changed the Blues’ shape to a 3-4-3, which escalated them to trophies. Conte won the Premier League in his first season, Tuchel won the Champions League during his debut campaign. However, no matter how much their sides struggled in the aforementioned formation throughout their time in charge, they refused to change shape in the grand scheme of things. At least, that’s been the case recently with Tuchel. This only makes Wednesday’s clash in west London that much more intriguing tactically.

Even though Conte and Tuchel primarily set their respective sides up in a 3-4-3, they play two vastly different styles of football. Conte’s Spurs—similar to the Italian’s Chelsea sides—sit back and invite pressure. Conte is huge on defensive discipline and he places a major emphasis on positioning and shape. His sides are comfortable playing 11 men behind the ball if that means forcing the opposition into unnatural areas. This is when Conte squads thrive the most. They then hit their opponents with lethal counter attacks. Tottenham may not get many looks at goal, but Spurs doesn’t need a ton of opportunities, they make the few they get count with lethal finishers like Harry Kane and Son Heung-min playing the most important roles under Conte.

Meanwhile, Tuchel’s 3-4-3 is almost the complete opposite. The Blues deploy a relentless press when out of possession in order to get the ball back high up the pitch. Chelsea thrives on breaking opponents down throughout the entirety of a game with high possession statistics, inverted runs in from wide areas and unmatched pressure. The Blues are most comfortable when in possession of the ball, regardless of where that is on the pitch. Edouard Mendy, Jorginho and the three-man defense is just as comfortable playing from out the back as Mason Mount and Romelu Lukaku are in the opponent’s 18-yard box. The German’s tactics are almost the textbook antithesis of Conte’s.

These contrasting styles will make for one interesting tactical showdown. The biggest shame is that neither manager will have his full squad available. Steven Bergwijn, Cristian Romero and Ryan Sessegnon are set to miss out for Spurs. Meanwhile Ben Chilwell, Reece James and Edouard Mendy (AFCON) are all sure to be out. Andreas Christensen, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Timo Werner are questionable after returning to training this week, the latter two following battles with COVID-19. Supporters always want to see the two strongest sides go head-to-head in important matches such as this one. Nevertheless, it’s set to be an incredible showdown anyway between two of the most brilliant minds in world football.

Who do you think wins the first round of the fight? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter!