It’s quite unlikely that either Manchester United or Chelsea will win a trophy this season if they fail to emerge victorious in the FA Cup tie on Monday.
With the Premier League title race seeing a three-team tussle between Liverpool, Manchester City and Tottenham, the FA Cup is probably the pair’s best chance at a trophy this season, although Chelsea are in pole position to qualify for the last-16 of the Europa League.
United, however, are hurting after a damaging defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League.
Which of the two teams will seal a spot in the quarter-finals and move closer to a chance at silverware? We take a look at the tactics Maurizio Sarri could use to defeat Chelsea and progress further in the cup.
EXPOSE UNITED’S LACK OF WIDTH
Callum Hudson-Odoi.
With both Anthony Martial and Jesse Lingard out injured, it’s likely that United will adopt a narrower approach – possibly a 4-2-3-1 or a 4-3-1-2 formation. Chelsea must make sure that they use this in their favour and overload the wide areas.
This could be the perfect time to provide the teenage-sensation Callum Hundson-Odoi a start, given his pace and ability to get past defenders to whip in crosses.
Gonzalo Higuain gives him a target to aim for and the Argentine is deadly inside the box. Chelsea can adopt an indirect approach where the ball flows on the wings in bursts of quick transitions before it ends up in proximity to the Chelsea No9.
HIGUAIN AS A DISTRACTION FOR HAZARD
Eden Hazard
Although United have been getting the right results under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, the defence still reeks of fragility. The defensive shape can easily be distorted by someone with great off-the ball movement – someone like Higuain.
The 31-year-old must open up space for Eden Hazard by dropping deep and putting the centre-backs in a positional dilemma. This will also serve the dual purpose of an extra pair of legs in build-up, which is in line with Sarri’s philosophy.
Hazard can then exploit the pockets of space and steal the show with some shades of individual brilliance. The former Napoli man will hence serve as distraction as the Belgian carries the proceedings forward.
