Swansea vs. Chelsea: Tactical Preview of Premier League Game
Swansea City and Chelsea take to the pitch on Saturday in a repeat of one of the best clashes from the first half of the 2014-15 Premier League season.
Let's take a tactical look at how this one could play out.
Swansea City Setup
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Post-Wilfried Bony Swansea City will be a very heavily scrutinised Swansea City. Bafetimbi Gomis looks set to step in again, and although he drew a blank versus West Ham United, he did hit the woodwork and now looks set to carry the torch until/if a replacement is found.
Garry Monk has just one injury problem to lament in the form of Jefferson Montero, per PhysioRoom.com, and has Jonjo Shelvey suspended. With Ki Sung-Yueng away on international duty, the Swans are a little light in midfield.
Federico Fernandez is back and partnering Ashley Williams in central defence, and Angel Rangel should beat out Jazz Richards for a spot at right-back.
Chelsea Setup
Jose Mourinho has at least one enforced change to make, with Cesar Azpilicueta ducking out for Filipe Luis, per WhoScored. The quality of replacement is so high, it's not even a concern to fans.
Elsewhere, the Portuguese manager has some tough decisions to make: Petr Cech played very well against Newcastle United and could keep his spot, while fit-again Ramires could replace one of Cesc Fabregas, Oscar or Nemanja Matic in order to allow them to rest.
Kurt Zouma outplayed John Terry when replacing Gary Cahill against the Magpies and could play again. Cahill's been off recently, and Zouma has impressed every single time he's been given a shot.
A 4-2-3-1, as ever, is expected, with a strong focus on pressing and disrupting.
Key Point 1: New Partnerships
Swansea have impressed this season due to their rounded style of play, incorporating the classic possession-based philosophy, but also mixing in some more direct football too.
Play has been spread across the pitch nicely, but every team has a go-to partnership or angle it attacks with, and for the last five months that's been Bony plus Gylfi Sigurdsson.
Monk must fashion a new partnership on the pitch now in order to find success, and what would seem the de facto No. 1 in this instance—Montero plus Gomis—is unavailable due to an injury to the former.
Watch carefully to see how the Swans move the ball and which passing patterns they use; Bony, a former key part in both buildup and the decision-making of his midfielders in the final third, is no longer there to influence.
Key Point 2: Chelsea's Press Efficiency
An underrated part of Chelsea's game this season has been their ability to press with four players. Mourinho used a similar strategy last year, but the players are now more familiar with it and are profiting far more regularly.
Gloss back across many of Fabregas' assists and you'll see they start from a high turnover. He's receiving the ball 30 yards from goal in a four vs. four situation because Willian, Oscar and Eden Hazard are pressing and tackling. The job he has from there is, dare we say it, fairly easy.
Playing the Blues is difficult for myriad reasons, but this is perhaps the most important part of their strong away performances. Hazard's goals away from home dip noticeably, but he's a tactical instrument and does his job as required, tackling and laying it on.
With a midfield of Tom Carroll and Leon Britton likely, it's fair to say the Swans will have an irregular look to their system in the centre. We don't doubt Britton's ability to keep his cool in the face of a press, but what about Carroll?
