Sunderland vs. Chelsea: Tactical Preview of Premier League Game
Sunderland will be the latest challengers to Chelsea's unbeaten crown on Saturday, hosting the Blues at the Stadium of Light after the visitors' easy Champions League outing in Germany.
Let's take a tactical glance at this one and see where it could be won.
Sunderland News
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Gus Poyet believes his side are "back to normal" after a dreadful drubbing at the hands of Southampton earlier in the season. He told Sky Sports:
"I think we are back to normal. I needed to think about what happened three or four weeks ago and we needed to get back to basics.
That day (Southampton) was a terrible day, it was something unique but it creates doubt in the players' minds and in the next game we made two massive mistakes (against Arsenal).
"
The only possible returning player to Sunderland's XI is Ricky Alvarez, who has been struggling with injury issues. Otherwise, we're looking at a very similar team.
Chelsea News
Chelsea ripped Schalke to shreds on Tuesday evening in Europe and were able to give rests to key players in the second half. Diego Costa played less than 70 minutes as Jose Mourinho flexed his squad depth in full.
Expect a similar lineup to the one sent out in Gelsenkirchen; Mourinho wanted the job done so he could rest for the final gameweek, so here we'll see the regular cast.
That means Cesc Fabregas, Nemanja Matic, John Terry, Oscar, Eden Hazard and Costa again. Perhaps some rotation could occur at full-back, where Filipe Luis waits in the wings, but that's not a banker.
Key Point 1: Low Blocks vs. Chelsea Don't Work
Last season we saw Chelsea slip up against weaker sides in the Premier League (Sunderland and Aston Villa being prime examples) but consistently beat the "big" teams.
Jose Mourinho reacted by signing Cesc Fabregas and Diego Costa—two exceptionally direct, yet undeniably ruthless attacking options for his XI. Teams have lined up in a low block (deep-set 4-4-1-1/4-5-1 on the edge of the box) against the Blues this season just as they did last, but the results have been noticeably different.
Sitting deep against Chelsea no longer works, as the addition of the scything Fabregas is too hard to handle for most defences. His incisive passing has, categorically, been the most threatening in the league this season so far, and he can cut you apart from 18 yards out. Just ask Burnley, Schalke or any other team he's tormented this season.
Sunderland need a different strategy to the one used last season when they secured a surprise victory. The problem is no one knows what said strategy should be.
Key Point 2: Ivanovic Goes Walkies
A ray of hope for the Black Cats, perhaps, lies in the space left by Ivanovic at right-back. The Serbian, seemingly bored of doing nothing in most games, saunters forward at will and overloads the right flank.
This can be a weapon for Chelsea—check the film against West Bromwich Albion, where his overloads should have produced a minimum of two assists—but it looks like it could be a weak point in the system to exploit.
For that to happen, Connor Wickham is perfectly placed. He frequents the left of Sunderland's formation in a 4-3-3, often slipping into a wide forward role in defence as the formation shifts to a 4-4-2-esque shape in defence.
He can collect early balls and use his size to become a wide target man, but his drive, passing and decision-making must be spot on if Poyet's men are to have any success on quick counters.
