Chelsea and Manchester City’s meet in Saturday’s late kickoff represents the biggest clash in the Premier League weekend, and one that could have a huge bearing on the final standings come the end of May.
Indeed, last season’s champions and arguably the biggest threat to their title defence have both started the new campaign in predictably fine form, dropping just seven points between them and netting a combined 33 goals. Chelsea boast home advantage and will feel confident in achieving a result having already held firm against Arsenal, Tottenham, Everton and Atletico Madrid this term.
But boasting one of the most talented attacks in Europe, one mistake could cost Chelsea dearly not only over the ninety minutes but also throughout the course of 2017/18. With that in mind, here are three crucial questions Antonio Conte must find the right answers to before 5.30pm on Saturday…
3-4-3 or 3-5-2
Chelsea became almost synonymous with 3-4-3 last season as the switch in systems, inspired by a heavy defeat to Arsenal, suddenly instigated a run of 13 wins that saw the Blues build up an unassailable lead at the Premier League’s summit.
It’s unsurprisingly been Conte’s preferred setup for the vast majority of this term, but the Chelsea boss has made tweaks for away visits to heavyweight opponents and both times it’s worked a treat – a 3-6-1 leading to a 2-1 win over Tottenham and 3-5-2 used in the huge victory over Atletico Madrid on Wednesday night.
Although Chelsea will be at home on Saturday, Manchester City’s desire to keep the ball and unlock teams in attacking areas puts the latter formation in contention, especially after Eden Hazard and Alvaro Morata proved so effective as an attacking duo against Atletico – easily the most defensively-organised team in European football over the last four or five years.
Having enough bodies to frustrate City in the middle of the park before hitting them on the counter could be what leads to their first Premier League defeat of the campaign, but Conte may fear changing the dynamics too much and stick with his trusted 3-4-3.
How can Chelsea expose Man City’s defensive weaknesses?
It seems strange to question a side’s defensive qualities when they’ve conceded just two Premier League goals all season but Manchester City have enjoyed so much of the ball their backline has rarely been called into producing a top quality performance and in spite of that, they’ve still looked unconvincing at times.
There’s certainly scope for Chelsea to expose City’s defensive weaknesses at home, especially if captain Vincent Kompany and their only recognised left-back Benjamin Mendy are both absent through injury, which remains a strong possibility going into the weekend.
The obvious answer is targeting Nicolas Otamendi. Although the Argentine is clearly a talented defender and has the quality on the ball Pep Guardiola wants from his centre-backs, he’s still prone to rash decisions – rather tellingly, he’s been booked twice already this season including in the 5-0 win over Liverpool – and can look rather ordinary when dragged out wide to defend one-on-one. As soon as he’s on a yellow card, the South American becomes somewhat of a liability, so taking advantage of that could require fielding Hazard on his less associated right-hand side to tempt Otamendi into challenges with his dribbling ability, although speedy Brazilian Willian is capable of doing a similar job.
Who starts at the back?
With David Luiz suspended and Antonio Rudiger surprisingly dislodging Gary Cahill from the starting XI in recent weeks, Conte has some huge decisions to make at the back – made all-the-more significant by the undoubted attacking prowess of Saturday’s visitors. Last season, Conte adopted a policy of having one specific understudy for each centre-back position and that appears to be his mantra this time around, with Andreas Christensen thus far only used in the central role and Rudiger only featuring on the left-hand side.
But amid the absence of arguably Chelsea’s most experienced defender due to his sending off against Arsenal, it remains to be seen if Conte will stick with that policy or make an allowance that ensures Cahill, still the first-team captain, and Rudiger both get onto the pitch rather than placing faith in Christensen, who is still getting to grips with life in the Premier League.
It certainly seems the more logical solution considering the quality City will bring to Stamford Bridge and the consequential need for experience, but the Danish youngster arguably remains the best candidate for the central role due to his quality on the ball. It’s a big call for Conte, and one that could have a massive impact on the scoreline.