Manchester City vs. Chelsea: Pellegrini Must Start Kolarov to Counter Low-Block
Manchester City host Chelsea on Sunday in an early, potentially season-defining matchup at the Etihad Stadium. Both sides are coming off UEFA Champions League disappointments from midweek, but City must put this to the back of their minds as they try to close the gap on the Blues at the summit.
Let's take a tactical look at how this one may play out.
Manchester City Setup
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"In the Premier League the most important thing is not to give the team at the top of the table reasons to keep winning game after game," Fernandinho told The Guardian ahead of the game.
"We don’t want a big space between us. We have to win because there are six or eight points difference between us and Chelsea. We have to shorten it.”
Perhaps Liverpool's clash with Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal's bout with Manchester City did come a little early to be considered "title deciders," but this one most certainly is. Chelsea will pull eight points clear if they win, leaving City marooned in their wake.
Fernando is still out, but Stevan Jovetic could return to play up front. Sergio Aguero will be pushing for a return to the starting XI.
Chelsea Setup
Fellow striker Didier Drogba is as impressed as anyone by Diego Costa, admitting he's done superbly to adapt so quickly:
“For him to start the season in England, coming from Spain which is a very different league, and to recreate the same thing he was doing at Atletico is fantastic," the Ivorian told The Independent.
"He’s really good and he’s enjoying playing here and being with us. That’s the best feeling he could have. He’s the striker we needed this season.”
The Blues have no injury concerns, but they do have selection dilemmas. Filipe Luis was excellent against Schalke in place of Cesar Azpilicueta and Ramires is battling Oscar for the start.
Same Old Chelsea
Jose Mourinho won this fixture last season by playing exclusively on the counter-attack and firing forward on the ground via Eden Hazard. The Belgian carried the ball up the left with frequency to lead the surges forward, and in the process he made Pablo Zabaleta seem more human than anyone else ever has.
The philosophy has shifted a little this season—Chelsea have only kept one clean sheet in five games and won all of their Premier League games by two goals—but expect Mourinho to revert to type and clog the middle here.
That likely means persevering with the 4-3-3 we've seen him trial this past week—he used it in the second half against Swansea City and for the Champions League tie with Schalke.
It gives him the chance to sit three in the middle and outnumber City's two (Fernandinho/Yaya Toure), then spring two or three forward and utilise Ramires' immense athleticism through the centre.
If this is the game plan, Oscar is in danger of losing his spot.
Play Kolarov, not Clichy
Gael Clichy is the man often preferred in the "big" games, and although both he and Aleksandar Kolarov share the left-back slot, the Frenchman always lands the fancy occasions.
He's favoured mostly due to his recovery pace (both are average defensively), but City need to force the issue at home, and they know Chelsea will sit in a low-block.
You can pass endlessly from side to side against Mourinho's low-block, but you'll never get through unless you aggressively work the advanced areas. That means getting in behind (near-impossible), or alternatively trying to get around.
The David Silva-Kolarov overlap is a thing of absolute beauty; few, if any, full-backs can whip in chaotic low balls like the Serbian can.
Manuel Pellegrini needs to ensure he has Kolarov around to fire those in to hit the Chelsea defence at its heart, and Edin Dzeko needs to be in there to sweep them home.
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