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1) Will Man United’s counterattacks punish Chelsea’s bad transitions?
The most important tactical element in this match is how Chelsea deal with Manchester United’s counterattacks. As highlighted in United’s two league victories against Chelsea last year, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s preference for sitting down and hitting teams at halftime is the perfect system to exploit Chelsea’s inability to properly cope with the transition from attack to defense.
If we start to sound like a broken record, it’s because Lampard just isn’t learning from his mistakes. From his first game in charge – a 4-0 loss to Man United – At 3-3 draws against West Brom and Southampton this season, Chelsea are too easy to fight back in the middle of the park.
Lampard gives his players the freedom to roam where they want in search of a goal, so when the ball is lost they open too far to re-compress into a compact form. That won’t change until his pressure becomes more in sync and his attacking moves are ready on the training ground.
Man Utd will feel confident in his ability to sit deep and absorb pressure for long periods before breaking the gaps in Chelsea’s midfield and crawling behind Lampard’s high back line.
2) Will two back threes create an open midfield for Fernandes to dominate?
Chelsea used a 4-3-3 formation in the 4-0 and 2-0 league losses in 2019/20 before switching to a 3-4-2-1 for a 3-1 victory in the Cup semi-final. FA, which suggests Lampard will again deploy a back three for Saturday’s game. Meanwhile, Solskjaer generally looks to be 3-5-2 in big games, including Tuesday’s 2-1 win over Paris Saint-Germain.
This three-back clash will create one of two tactical patterns. Or the added protection on defense will ensure this is a low-scoring game, with Lampard in particular displaying a similar caution to the 0-0 draw with Sevilla midweek; Or, more likely, it will empty midfield to give us a more open game, as Man United counterattack in one direction and Chelsea fall back in the other, taking advantage of their newfound speed through Timo Werner.
If it’s the latter, then Man United has an advantage. Bruno Fernandes may not have gotten off to a great start to this season, but Chelsea’s two-man midfield gives him a chance to get back in shape. He will sit neatly between the lines as United’s number ten at 3-5-2, appearing in the spaces between N’Golo Kane and Jorginho.
3) Can Greenwood mate with Rashford?
Chelsea’s defenders are prone to errors, and with that messy high line, accompanied by a disorganized press, the visitors could be caught with simple passes from behind. However, Anthony Martial is suspended for this match, which means that Solskjaer may choose to play Mason Greenwood up front alongside Marcus Rashford.
If Greenwood successfully fills Martial’s boots, he and Rashford can split the three sides of Chelsea’s rear, racing down the canals for Fernandes to pick them. But the 19-year-old missed the PSG game through injury and may not be at 100%, plus he has yet to score a goal or assist this season in 195 minutes of league football.
Much will depend on who Lampard chooses as his left central. Andreas Christensen struggled with Sadio Mane’s pace in the 2-0 loss to Liverpool, and was sent off for a challenge at the Senegalese international. Kurt Zouma makes mistakes and Lampard doesn’t seem to trust Fikayo Tomori. Greenwood could imagine its possibilities.
4) Will Axel Tuanzebe help Man United contain Timo Werner?
Perhaps the 2-1 victory in Paris will be the defining moment for Axel Tuanzebe, finally given his chance by Solskjaer and seizing it with both hands in a display of command against Neymar and Kylian Mbappé. Tuanzebe, who was heavily on loan at Aston Villa in 2018/19 but hasn’t had a chance to move on since then, has the speed of recovery needed to complement Harry Maguire.
He also has the physical attributes to handle Werner. The Chelsea striker makes very smart runs from the last defender’s shoulder and will undoubtedly surpass Maguire, Victor Lindelof and / or Luke Shaw in the last three; Werner has linked very effectively with Kai Havertz in recent matches.
The most important individual battle in the game, should the contest drag on as Manchester United’s counterattack and Chelsea counterattack, is between Werner and Tuanzebe.
5) How will Werner, Havertz and Mount combine for Chelsea?
Mason Mount and Havertz are likely to start the game as inside forwards in Lampard’s 3-4-2-1, plunging into the halves spaces to receive passes that split the line on Man United’s blind side of midfield. From here, his connection to Werner, and the ability to put Ben Chilwell on the ball, will be the key to bringing Man United down.
But there is a chance that Lampard will stick with his 4-3-3 as he hasn’t deployed three from behind since the FA Cup semi-final last season. This is a potentially more awkward setup to take on United’s three center-backs, primarily because it puts Havertz in a lopsided position and disconnects Werner from his teammates. Against deep defense, Chelsea’s attackers would likely struggle to dominate at 4-3-3.
Alex Keble Hosts Premier League Pre-Match Tactics Program on twitch.tv/EPLtactics
Will Chelsea fall into Manchester United’s trap again at Old Trafford? And is Virgil van Dijk really as big of a loss for Liverpool as has been claimed? Winty and Mark discuss what is sure to be a great weekend.
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