Oscar holds the key as Chelsea do battle with Manchester City In a match boasting numerous big-game players, the Brazilian will have to work hard to prevent the Blues midfielders taking control of proceedings ANALYSIS By Liam Twomey Many would have you believe that Sunday afternoon will throw together the two main challengers for Manchester United’s Premier League crown at Stamford Bridge – yet, remarkably, two months into the season, we still have very little idea of what to expect. Chelsea and Manchester City are both adjusting to new signings, new managers and new tactics, and the cost of transition is inconsistency. The Blues held their own for two hours against the best team in the world, Bayern Munich, in the Super Cup final in Prague at the end of August, only to lose limply at home to Basel in their Champions League group stage opener three weeks later. City utterly destroyed Manchester United at the Etihad Stadium a month ago, but have also imploded on the road against Cardiff City and Aston Villa. Jose Mourinho and Manuel Pellegrini, the two new men on the touchline, know each other well from numerous battles in Spain. Yet the sense remains that neither have settled on a consistent strongest team as they ponder the decisions which will help decide Sunday’s clash. The Special One has largely stuck with the 4-2-3-1 formation he practised at Real Madrid since his return to Stamford Bridge, but the chosen personnel and style have varied wildly depending on the opposition. Against Manchester United he parked his defence on the edge of Petr Cech’s penalty area and employed Andre Schurrle as a defensive forward to pressure the opposition backline. Against Bayern Munich he moved the German out to the right, put Fernando Torres up front and urged his team to counter with pace and ferocity at every opportunity. At home the onus will be on Chelsea to attack City, but Mourinho is naturally pragmatic in his approach to big matches. This means we will likely be deprived of the pleasure of watching Juan Mata from the start, as the Spaniard is still not trusted to be mindful of his defensive responsibilities. In Mourinho’s defence, discipline in wide areas will be crucial for the Blues because, in Pellegrini’s trademark 4-2-2-2 formation, City usually carry a threat on both flanks. David Silva tends to drift from the left into the middle, allowing either Alexander Kolarov or Gael Clichy to overlap and provide crosses; on the right, Jesus Navas will exhaust and expose Ashley Cole if he is anything less than 100 per cent recovered from his rib injury. Oscar will have to drop deep more frequently than usual to support the midfield duo behind him, too, because Fernandinho and Yaya Toure possess the strength and skill to out-muscle and out-pass Ramires and Frank Lampard. If, as expected, Silva looks for pockets of space between the lines, the task will become even harder. The Brazilian has been favoured due to his hard work without the ball as much as his creativity with it, and he could play a crucial role at Stamford Bridge. If he can marry that endeavour with his trademark cutting edge, Chelsea will diminish Citys stranglehold on the central areas and could catch out a defence which is yet to settle on a default position. As ever, possession will be a key factor. Both teams are accustomed to having the most of the ball – Chelsea have the highest average home possession (62.6 per cent) in the league, while no one keeps the ball better away from home than City (64.2%), though these figures can also be attributed partially to a forgiving early fixture list. Despite their home advantage, Citys potential monopoly on possession would better suit the Blues’ superior counterattacking prowess.
Posted on: Fri, 25 Oct 2013 12:15:22 +0000