Chelsea are set to face Manchester United in a monumental Premier League clash on Sunday. This match is significant in more ways than one. Aside from playing a part in the ultimate destination of the league title, there are a few subplots on the brew.
Firstly, there’s Jose Mourinho’s first return to Stamford Bridge since getting axed in December. The Portuguese will be desperate to leave his former paymasters in a world of hurt at the end of the match.
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There’s also an entire locker room of Chelsea players who want to show Mourinho that they’re much better off without him. Then there’s Antonio Conte most likely needing to prove a personal point and show the fans who the real ‘Special One’ is at the Bridge.
Whatever the outcome, there’s sure to be entertainment - be it on the pitch, the sidelines or the media room. But Chelsea need to win this game, and here are five things they must do to ensure victory.
#1 Stick to the formation
Conte has switched from a 4-2-3-1 formation to a 3-4-3 in his last two matches, and it’s no coincidence that the team has kept successive clean sheets for the first time this season.
Fielding a back three has worked wonders for the Blues’ struggling defence, and has made their attack all the better.
Gary Cahill, who was less than dependable earlier in the season, has looked pretty confident playing as a left centre-back, while David Luiz is putting in some impressive performances in the heart of the defence.
The attacking width brought about by wing-backs Victor Moses and Marcos Alonso has allowed for more fluency in attack, as Eden Hazard has the freedom to play more centrally.
So far, it has worked out well for Chelsea. There’s really no point in reverting to a four-man defence at the moment.
#2 Leave Terry out and keep Zlatan quiet
Not the sort of thing Blues fans want to be reading right now, but it may actually help a whole lot.
Terry hasn’t played since that 2-2 draw with Swansea over a month ago, and he was sorely missed – that is until the system changed. Now that he’s fit and available, one would think that the Blues captain could easily slot in at the centre of the three-man back-line. Yet continuity could serve the Blues a lot better than Terry.
You may argue that he will be training in the formation ahead of the game, however, it’s a tad different when playing in an actual match.
This is not to say that Terry shouldn’t be returned to the starting line-up. But perhaps this particular clash is not one which he should be eased into.
Also, Zlatan Ibrahimovic has been rather quiet as of late, but that by no means suggests that he won’t be a deciding factor in this match. The Swede got off to a hot start, but form seems to have left him and he has only scored once in his last seven games. However, the Blues should pay as much attention to him as everyone else.
#3 Avoid the mind games
Antonio Conte has never come up against Mourinho before. However, he should be well aware of the ex-Chelsea boss’ pre-game tricks. This match means a lot to Mourinho and we can’t put it past him not to try every dirty trick in the book to psyche Conte out.
So far, all of the Italian’s aggression has been kept for the football pitch. He is somewhat of a media darling and looks a totally different person when in a press conference. He doesn’t try to rile opposing managers up before big matches, which is a lot more than one can say for Mourinho.
Conte must be careful not to play into Mourinho’s hands by letting him get in his head, but it will be an interesting watch if the United boss does use the dark side of the force in this one.
#4 Dictate the pace in midfield
This game is one that could be won and lost in midfield, and Chelsea will have to dominate that area if they want a result. The pairing of N’Golo Kante and Nemanja Matic has been working, albeit inconsistently, this season. And if the Blues are to gain the upper hand, the two midfield enforcers must put in a top performance.
They would do well to contain Paul Pogba. The Frenchman, widely regarded as one of the best players in his position, was a world beater at Juventus, but has failed to live up to the hype so far.
Also read: EPL 2016-17: Returning to Manchester United was Paul Pogba's dream, says Antonio Conte
He played a very poor game against Liverpool on Monday - so much so that Mourinho expressed quite a bit of disappointment after the 0-0 draw.
"Had it been 1-0, it would have been finished," the gaffer said to Sky Sports following the stalemate draw. "Where Pogba was playing, I was expecting more penetration.”
However, he showed a much better version of himself against Fenerbahce in the Europa League on Thursday, so Chelsea need to be wary.
#5 Keep the attack central
As mentioned before, Chelsea’s new system allows for more creativity in the middle, but Mourinho will certainly devise a plan to drag Diego Costa out wide. The striker has scored seven goals from eight matches this season and is the Premier League’s top scorer.
Mourinho coached Costa for the first half of last season, and he knows just how poor the Brazilian is at doing his job when he’s not in proper positions. He will obviously try to nullify the biggest threat that his former club have going forward, so Conte and Costa should be wary of such and try to stick to the plan.
It would also help if Hazard found freedom in the middle like he did against Leicester City last weekend, yet Mourinho would have no doubt told his team to keep the Belgian away from where he’s most comfortable.
