FA Cup Final: Manchester United vs Chelsea- A Tactical Battle

The final of the FA Cup will take place at Wembley this Saturday. Often called the most important date in the English football calendar, FA Cup continues to hold extreme relevance even today. The glory of lifting that prestigious trophy in the biggest stadium of England is unmatched. Hence teams often put their best foot forward in the final domestic match of the season.

However, this time, a major part of the battle is going to be fought in the tactical room of both the teams. Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte are two revered managers in European football. However, one thing that's common between them is their tactical acumen, which has been revolutionary in the Premier League. Both Jose and Conte have influenced the Premier League and brought their own, new sets of ideologies that have stood the test of time.

Hence, when these two gaffers line their team up for the clash at Wembley, a lot of work would have been done in setting their team up for the match. Both these managers have a personal animosity between them too, and hence it would be interesting to see who thumps who when their players take the field at Wembley. Here, we analyze the formations that these two teams can undertake when they face off each other:

Manchester United

United won the last fixture against Chelsea in February

Jose Mourinho has been quite flexible with his formations throughout the season. However, he has kind off resorted to playing a 4-3-3 setup in the past few months. Meanwhile, Romelu Lukaku’s injury has prompted me to suggest two formations for United; one with him, and the other without him.

The 4-3-3: Defensive Shape (with Lukaku)

Usually, Manchester United play Alexis Sanchez, Romelu Lukaku, and Jesse Lingard as the three forwards in the 4-3-3 formation. This allows the front three to have positional freedom while attacking as they have the tendency to shift positions according to the nature of the play. However, one thing that is often overlooked is the fact that Mourinho always prefers Lingard and Sanchez as the wingers ahead of Anthony Martial.

This has a lot to do with Lingard’s incessant energy on the pitch. The Mancunian is a tireless runner and is very industrious as soon as the team loses the ball. Statistically, United keep 54% of the possession of the ball in the Premier League. Hence, in the time when the team is chasing the ball, Mourinho tasks Lingard to drop back to act as the fourth midfielder. This forms a four-man traditional midfield base to protect the defence.

Lingard is often seen tracking back the runner on the right-hand side of the pitch and acts as a foil to Antonio Valencia. He helps the Ecuadorian while pressing the opposition on the extreme right side of the pitch. For example, look at Paul Pogba’s goal against Arsenal at Old Trafford a couple of weeks ago. Valencia put pressure on Reiss Nelson on the right-hand side, and Lingard dropped back at the halfway line to collect the ball.

He then passed it on to Pogba, which eventually led to a goal. Mourinho admires Lingard’s tenacity while playing as a wide-man and that helps him have a defensive balance in the 4-3-3 formation. Even Paul Pogba is instructed to shunt out a bit wide so that he provides some defensive cover to the makeshift left-back Ashley Young. Pogba tracks the opposite right-winger and tries to thwart off attacks even before the ball reaches to Young.

However, both Young and Pogba like to go ahead and their positional discipline has regularly been under scanner. To maintain a proper balance on the field, it is necessary that both of them agree to the manager’s demands of staying back whenever the team loses the ball. They were quite well positioned and disciplined against Spurs in the semi-final as Pogba went behind to win balls and then started attacks with some slick passes in that game.

Against a well-drilled Chelsea side, United cannot afford to lose their shape as they did for Dele Alli’s goal in the same semifinal match. When Davinson Sanchez had released a ball from the backline for Eriksen to chase, Young was nowhere in the scene and Pogba couldn’t track him back fast enough to stop the Dane’s cross inside the box. Though United fought back well in the game courtesy to Pogba himself, a replica of that goal should be avoided from United’s perspective.

When Pogba and Lingard cover their fullbacks, there is a lot of space left in the centre. Here’s when playing a three-man midfield helps, as Ander Herrera and Nemanja Matic close down spaces effectively well in the middle of the park. Herrera’s bite and energy help him move the ball ahead quickly. He is aware enough to put pressure on the opposition before the ball is passed to the backline.

Where Herrera relies on winning the ball through tackles, Matic tends to intercept the ball with his positional awareness. Both of them sit around the halfway line in an attempt to win the ball higher up on the pitch. Matic always looks better equipped when he is partnered by Herrera, as both of them solely concentrate on winning the ball whenever the team is dispossessed. Herrera’s speed enables him to quickly shut down any openings in the midfield. United tend to outnumber the opposition at the centre in order to absorb attacking pressure ahead of the backline. More interestingly, Sanchez drifts inside and tries to win the ball in the opposition half itself. The Chilean’s game has always been based on energy and constant running on the field.

His defensive contribution helps United in recovering the ball in dangerous areas in the opposition half. There is an urge in him to repeatedly win the ball back as soon as he loses it, and hence Sanchez leaves no stone unturned in order to help his midfield when the team loses the ball.

Often, in a 4-3-3 formation, two forwards position themselves in the opposition box. However, Sanchez falls a bit deeper than usual. He is also effective in transitioning defence into attack and that’s the reason why his presence is extremely essential even without the ball.

The 4-3-3: Attacking Shape (with Lukaku)

Manchester United’s attacking shape in the 4-3-3 formation is quite traditional as they look to attack with four men, with Ander Herrera playing the role of the quintessential box-to-box midfielder. His winning goal in the semifinal against Spurs defines Herrera’s role. He first cleared a ball safely to the keeper, and then rushed ahead to the opposite box in order to score the goal through a quick counter-attack. His energy and tenacity help the midfielder to carry out this role with perfection.

Meanwhile, Chris Smalling and Phil Jones are often very reserved in possession. Smalling particularly has been unable to play the ball out from the back and hence either Nemanja Matic or Paul Pogba have to drop deeper to orchestrate the play. Usually, Matic collects the ball and passes it to Pogba on the left Pogba, then forms passing triangles with Herrera and Lingard in the opposition half. As an LCM, Pogba tries to get into short spaces in the midfield.

Hence, one can see him drifting inside in the central attacking midfield position. From here, he can either pass sideways or pick out the man in the box with a straightforward pass. Most of the times though, the Frenchman uses his dribbling prowess to pick the left-wing slot, as Alexis has a tendency of cutting inside to use his preferred right foot.

This way, Lukaku then shifts out a bit wide, as he can send in some good crosses. This has bee visible throughout the course of the season. United’s attacking gameplay is very fluid, as the players are quite well aware of their positions despite not having played a lot together. Alexis gets in goal-scoring positions and Pogba drifts wide, or Pogba makes the run through the centre and Alexis tries to feed him from the left flank.

There is adaptability when these two players are considered, as both of them have looked to be at their best whenever United play a three-man midfield. Meanwhile, Lingard looks to come inside from his right-wing too. To be honest, Lingard’s best attacking moments come when the team attacks on the break, as his pace and dribbling, make him a menace during counter attacks.

Otherwise, most of United’s offensive play is concentrated through the left-flank. This is due to the sheer quality of the players on that side of the pitch. Hence, Lingard has to shift behind Lukaku and take a part in the passing triangles that are usually initiated by Pogba. All this time, Alexis gets around the edge of the box and tries to play in some cheeky balls to Lukaku who stations himself on the right-hand side of the goalpost.

United can bring in more cohesion in their attacks, and Lukaku’s hold up play through which he brings the other forwards into the attacking moves is very important. It is surely something that the team would miss if the Belgian fails to recover in time from his ankle injury.

The 4-3-1-2: Defensive Shape (without Lukaku)

First of all, without Romelu Lukaku, Manchester United will most probably shift to a narrower 4-3-1-2 formation with Alexis and Martial/Rashford upfront. However, the defensive aspect of this formation will be quite similar. This is because, even here, a four-man midfield base will be arranged so that the backline could be protected thoroughly.

Lingard will be playing in the hole behind the two strikers, but he would have to move out wide and deep in order to break attacks. Jose always likes to put men behind the ball. He likes to start counter-attacks by winning the ball in the midfield. Hence Lingard’s presence on the right side would be important to put pressure on the opposition's midfield.

If you take a closer look at United’s defensive formation, it is a man-to-man protection for each defender. Valencia has Lingard to help him on the right-flank, and accordingly Smalling, Jones and Young would have Herrera, Matic and Pogba respectively. As visible, the left-hand side of this formation is the most vulnerable, and Chelsea might try to tackle that by bringing in the pace and direct dribbling of Willian.

The Brazilian winger scored the only goal for Chelsea when the two sides met in February and he could be a major threat for United once again. Moreover, if the Brazilian is able to peg back Pogba, then United’s creative moves will take a huge blow. Hence it needs to be ensured that Young does not commit any positional error that allows Willian to work his way into space on that wing.

Alexis will once again drop a bit down on the field and he would pretty much be United’s creator-in-chief. However, it must be ensured that he does not drop way too deeper to win the ball, as any such move would devoid United of a whole lot of creativity in the final third.

Amongst Sanchez and Pogba, only one should be tasked with defensive duties, as the other should be free to collect the ball and launch an attack as soon as the team recovers the possession. Sanchez’s willingness to work without the ball will help Martial/Rashford as Alexis’ forward partner could station himself in threatening goal-scoring positions.

The 4-3-1-2: Attacking Shape (without Lukaku)

To be honest, this formation does not provide much tactical flexibility to the manager, and the players would hardly rotate around their positions as they do so effectively well in the 4-3-3. However, Pogba can certainly occupy the left wing slot, as Sanchez would be playing slightly inwards to fulfill his role as that of a creative forward. Hence, amongst the four attacking players, in my opinion, only Pogba will have the freedom to move across the field to put in testing deliveries into the box.

Jesse Lingard will be playing in his favored position behind the strikers. As witnessed in the first half against Swansea at the start of April, Lingard has the ability to create a whole lot of space near the penalty box with his intelligent movement off the ball. While Pogba would look to get in these spaces in order to make decisive passes, Sanchez could play inside the box.

Pogba’s interference in attack would be essential due to the fact that Lukaku’s absence might deprive United of any kind of strong physical presence in the penalty box. Gary Cahill was physically imposing and used his aerial threat to good effect in Chelsea’s victory against Liverpool.

Hence, Lukaku might have helped to neutralize that aspect of Chelsea’s back three, and would have kept Cahill preoccupied; which, in turn, would have helped the other forwards to work their way through the space vacated by Cahill. If Lukaku doesn’t recover in time, Pogba could be used as someone who can trouble Cahill with his aerial prowess.

However, in such case, Matic and Herrera will have to stay extremely concentrated as N’golo Kante will drive Chelsea ahead with precision. This attacking formation is quite narrow and leaves the fullbacks exposed on the wing too. United’s makeshift fullbacks will have to most probably face the likes of Eden Hazard and Willian.

A narrow formation such as this one could leave the fullbacks vulnerable in a one-on-one situation. Hence Jose might have to figure something out regarding this if he decides to field his team in the 4-3-1-2 formation. Chelsea’s wingbacks like to maraud forward through the flanks, and it makes up to be an interesting clash of tactics if Jose is forced to use this due to Lukaku’s absence.

If Sanchez and Martial/Rashford play upfront, United will be required to play through the middle of the park more often than not. This is because of the fact that Cahill and Azpilicueta can defeat the United duo in the air. Playing through the centre would be even more difficult considering that Kante has slowly recovered his old form and has carved a niche for himself at breaking down attacks at an alarming rate.

United’s attacking moves will have to be swift and quick, as allowing Kante to come near any loose balls can prove out to be costly. This 4-3-1-2 or the midfield diamond formation will bring its own sets of questions for the manager.

Chelsea

Hazard will be the key man for the Blues

Chelsea usually play with a three-man backline with two offensive wingbacks in Marcos Alonso and Victor Moses. However, the midfield and attacking formation keeps on changing between a 3-4-3 and 3-5-2. Tiemoue Bakayako is used as the third midfielder in the 3-5-2 formation, while Willian replaces the Frenchman in the 3-4-3. Here, we will analyze both the formations.

The 3-4-3: Defensive Shape

Chelsea’s three-man backline appears to be quite an offensive move, but Antonio Conte is a shrewd tactician and hence he knows how to maintain a proper balance between attack and defence. Whenever the team loses the ball, the two wingbacks are often instructed to fall back and track the opposite winger to win the ball back.

Meanwhile, the three central defenders maintain a compact shape, and they overload the penalty box by closing down spaces. When Moses and Alonso track behind, it primarily becomes a five-man backline without the ball and the defensive shape becomes very dense. This makes it difficult for the opposition to break down the backline, and that is due to various reasons.

Cesar Azpilicueta is a good reader of the game, and he can intercept balls coming in through the middle. He is good with the ball at his feet too and makes accurate decisions of how to build the play with his composed presence. When the opposition team senses this, they try to shift the play to the flanks.

Here, Moses and Alonso remain well positioned to stop the crosses from going into the box. However, if they fail in doing so, then Chelsea have the huge presence of Gary Cahill at the centre of the box. The Englishman is extremely strong in the air; times his jumps well and can make regular, constant headed clearances.

This is one of the main reasons that Cahill will be preferred over Andreas Christensen, as the Dane is quite young, and weaker when compared to Cahill. Gary holds the opposite forward well, and his presence is crucial in handling strong forwards such as Lukaku or even Pogba (when the Frenchman barges into the box).

The midfielders are assigned with proper positions too. Kante is an exceptional ball-winner and doesn’t allow the opposition number to maintain more possession at the centre of the park. The Frenchman is unadventurous with the ball, and his passing isn’t the most incisive in my opinion. However, his energy helps him to drive the team ahead from deeper positions in the field.

So, whenever Chelsea recover the ball through Cahill or Azpi, they pass it to Kante, and then Kante takes the ball along with the entire team ahead. He then passes it to the nearby midfielder or the wingers. Cesc Fabregas isn’t the most tenacious midfielder, and his tackles are puerile too. Hence, Conte prefers to assign the defensive work to Willian.

The Brazilian, pretty much like Kante, is very diligent and always tracks his runner behind. He relies more on putting the pressure on the opposition rather than winning the ball. Most of the times, you can see him combining with Moses on the right-wing and then the Brazilian launches a counter attack as soon as Moses passes him the ball after winning it.

Meanwhile, Eden Hazard tries to get in unmarked positions on the opposite flank. He tends to get into the spaces between the lines. Only Giroud, Hazard and Fabregas to a certain extent are freed from defensive work in this overly offensive looking Chelsea formation.

The 3-4-3: Attacking Shape

Once Chelsea recover the possession of the ball, there is a swift transition from defence to attack. Azpilicueta’s composure on the ball, coupled with Kante’s tendency to drive the team ahead with precision help Chelsea to turn defence into attack quickly. The team changes its shape as soon as they gain the ball, and the first change comes through the wingbacks in this formation.

Actually, the wingbacks need to cover a lot of distance, as they have to run up and down the pitch according to the demands of the situation. Moses and Alonso are incredibly fit and quick athletes, and that is one of the main reasons why both of them have excelled whilst playing out wide on the field. Their primary instinct is to overlap their adversary on the wing and to take advanced positions by stretching the opposition’s backline.

Alonso is one of the best crossers in the league, and the presence of Giroud in the box makes this tactic even more viable. Moses was a winger early in his career and hence he has the habit of remaining extremely busy in the final third. Moreover, Chelsea pulled off a masterstroke by luring in Giroud in the January transfer window. Morata was proving to be lacklustre in front of the goal, and Hazard is not the best when it comes to winning aerial duels.

Giroud keeps the opposition central defenders busy with his strong physical demeanour. He is best suitable for Chelsea’s attacking game, which is mostly based on wingbacks putting in crosses into the box. Fabregas takes up the role of creator in this formation, and he is the only suitable person in the current squad to link up the midfield to attack.

Fabregas’ work-rate has been extremely poor this season, and he does not even chase the second balls in order to recover the possession. However, he can form some good passing combinations with either Hazard or Willian at the edge of the box. The Spaniard’s main contributions come when he makes those outrageously accurate long balls into the box in search of either Giroud or Morata inside the box.

He is also a good set-piece taker, but the role of Fabregas in this Chelsea lineup is quite undefined or has become restricted due to his poor form this season. However, lack of better alternatives might still help him retain a starting spot in the finals. Anyways, he is one link whom Manchester United might target, as Fabregas has been found wanting in both defence and attack in recent times.

Willian’s direct dribbling and quick pace will be important whenever Chelsea break on the counter-attack. His combinational play with Hazard in these counter-attacks has often threatened the opposition’s backline. Chelsea caught United off-guard when Willian scored from a similar counter-attack, at Old Trafford this February.

Willian’s interlinking with Hazard was both sublime and precise, and it took a matter of seconds for Chelsea to dismantle United’s defensive shape. While attacking, Hazard performs the best when he is played as the left-winger. The Belgian drifts in and across the forward line to create play around the penalty box.

He should be given the positional freedom to propel, and hence there was a sudden dip in his form when Conte played him as the false 9. There is much more to Hazard’s play than mere goal scoring, and Groud needs to be efficient and prolific in order to finish off the chances created by the Belgian.

The 3-5-2: Defensive Shape

Chelsea usually revert to the 3-5-2 from the 3-4-3 in certain matches. The biggest exclusion from this side is always Willian, as there is actually no place for a right-winger in this formation. Tiemoue Bakayako makes his way into the team in Willian’s expense, and that means that the Frenchman takes up the box-to-box role in the midfield.

Starting with the team’s backline, the back three stay in their positions accordingly and they don’t have to push ahead as such. This is because, they have another midfielder in Bakayako, to whom the central defenders can pass the ball to carry it out from the back. Cahill normally sits deeper than Azpilicueta and Rudiger, which makes this formation narrower at times.

This is so that Cahill could clear out the crosses, and the deliveries made into the box safely. Alonso and Moses fall back, and Chelsea swiftly reorganize their defence to form a five-man backline in order to have at least one/two extra men in defence. This is usually beneficial when compared to the opposition’s forward line. Both Alonso and Moses are strong physically, and their primary objective is to clear out the attempted cross.

Alonso is often suspect of not tracking his marker to the near post. That forces Rudiger to shift wider to help Alonso in that aspect. This creates a hole in Chelsea’s defence, as Cahill, Azpi and Moses accordingly drift inside in order to cover the space vacated by Rudiger.

The opposition targets this loophole by sending in long balls to the left flank, as Rudiger will have to shift there in order to win the second ball. This would allow the opposition at least some space to work on near the penalty box.

Kante is benefitted by the support of Bakayako, as both the midfielders are quite good on the ball and can exchange some quick passes before laying it off to Hazard on the other side. Despite this, Bakayako is extremely culpable of making some silly, regular errors while defending. He does not time his challenges well, and hence ends up making costly errors whilst tracking back or pressing the opposition.

Kante, meanwhile, is energetic and lively in deep midfield. He sits very deep along with Bakayako, and try to hit the opposition on the counter. Fabregas, too, has to take up some defensive work here as Willian’s absence means that Chelsea need someone with the same level of tenacity to press the opposition and to win the ball in the midfield.

However, to be honest, Chelsea are more vulnerable in defence while playing a 3-5-2. This is because of the fact that here they have two players i.e. Fabregas and Bakayako who are weaker on the defensive front. This leaves Kante to do the majority of the job and leaves him to cover lots of space, as Bakayako has been extremely hesitant to pressurize the opposition when they have the ball.

Willian’s presence makes Chelsea’s pressing game way more effective. However, in a 3-5-2, Chelsea have a lot of defensive work, and relatively lesser armoury to tackle that.

The 3-5-2: Attacking Shape

Willian’s exclusion from the team means that the right winger is absent for Chelsea. However, Moses’ occasional instinct over here is to overlap and then to provide a cross into the box. Once Victor commits himself completely, it leaves the right back position empty.

However, Bakayako shifts wider, and so does Azpilicueta and that gives Moses the license to attack completely. Bakayako’s role from an attacking perspective is very fascinating, as the Frenchman has the license to drive the team ahead and to add a physically strong body in the opposition box.

This helps Kante sit back and that gives him the time to read and thwart attacks. In all fairness, Bakayako fulfills the attacking demands of his box-to-box role more convincingly than the defensive duties. He has to track back when necessary, but the former AS Monaco star is given the partial freedom to attack. This is due to the fact that he has someone as safe as Kante sitting deeper in the field.

Fabregas tries to join the dots in the midfield, as he tries to link up the likes of Alonso and particularly Hazard with his accurate passing. Though the Spaniard is prone to defensive unawareness, he can provide those incisive, pinpoint long balls into the box or to Hazard near the edge of the box.

Alonso’s role remains the same, as he tries to stretch the opposition’s backline and then sends hopeful deliveries inside the box. The major positional change is that of Hazard’s, as the Belgian has no fixed position in this formation. He is given the free role behind the striker. Now, though Hazard starts from the left, he regularly roams around the frontline.

This creates unrest in the opposition’s half and it makes it even more difficult to mark the diminutive Belgian. He can play either on wings or even through the centre in this formation. Giroud, too, is more mobile and takes more part in the buildup play than usual. He tries to drop a bit deeper and to interlink with Hazard in order to create goal-scoring opportunities.

Conclusively, this formation takes a bit more effort from every player when the team looks to attack. However, it allows Hazard to play in an absolute free role, and this positional freedom gives him the incentive to influence attacks from any direction around the penalty box.

Verdict:

This is definitely going to be an interesting match of tactics, and both the managers would try to outthink the adversary in the tactical room. Manchester United’s formation remains a huge concern, as they would have to chop and change a lot if Lukaku and Martial don’t make it to the field.

Chelsea most definitely could do better by playing a 3-4-3, as Willian’s attributes and the defensive balance that this formation brings is much better than the 3-5-2. However, Jose is known to tweak his formations during big matches, and hence, the situation is pretty delicate and unpredictable currently.

Edited by Amar Anand