Chelsea v Leicester: How Tuchel’s side can exploit the Foxes’ weaknesses at Wembley
In what boss Thomas Tuchel has described as two finals in the space of three days, Chelsea take on Leicester City knowing two wins would turn a promising season into a terrific one.
An eighth FA Cup would help the Blues leapfrog Arsenal as the most successful FA Cup-winning side in the 21st century, and victory in the Premier League would be a massive step towards qualifying for next season’s Champions League.
West London Sport takes a look at the opponents for two season-defining fixtures – their set-up, their strengths, and how their shortcomings could be exploited.
The formbook
Four wins in their past six may sound great on paper, but the Foxes have been far from their fluent best in recent weeks.
Against a Manchester United side that had rested eight players and were missing captain Harry Maguire, they were unconvincing, still looking rattled from a shock 4-2 home loss to Newcastle a few days before.
The form of two of their key attackers is also of great concern. Jamie Vardy has one goal in his previous 17 games, while James Maddison has no goals or assists in the seven games since his return from injury.
Last season, Leicester faltered woefully in the run-in and let a Champions League spot slip away from their grasp.
Whether their players will show renewed mental fortitude or collapse under similar pressure will be intriguing to see.
Style of play
In recent games, manager Brendan Rodgers has tinkered with a back three and and back four, playing a 4-4-2, a 3-5-2 (in the absence of Maddison) and a 3-4-1-2.
The 3-4-1-2 appears to be the likeliest for two reasons. Firstly, a back three will allow him to shore up a shaky defence against a mobile Chelsea front three. Secondly, it allows Rodgers to pick his three best attackers in the same formation, with Maddison playing behind a front two of Vardy and Kelechi Iheanacho.
In attack, Vardy often is the advanced forward, playing on the shoulder of the last defender and always looking to play in behind.
Iheanacho often drops deeper, dragging defenders out and creating space for Vardy to run into. The fact that Maddison has only recently returned from injury probably explains why he is yet to impress in his new position even though the role seems ideally suited his creativity.
Any space afforded to Maddison in or around the 18-yard-box is asking to be punished.
In midfield, the intelligent and inexhaustible running of Wilfred Ndidi is as close to replacing N’Golo Kante as Leicester could get. The Nigerian midfielder’s defensive volume is tremendous; his average of 4.85 tackles & interceptions per game puts him top of the league.
Midfield partner Youri Tielemans has also been a revelation. The all-action central midfielder contributes at both ends of the pitch and is a crucial link in transitions.
In a back three, Jonny Evans is a pivotal figure. He is dominant in the air, organises the defence and also tries frequent long passes to Vardy to bypass the opposition press.
The hugely impressive Wesley Fofana offers aggression, speed and doggedness, and is very adept at winning both aerial and ground duels. The Leicester defence tends to favour caution over calm and will often choose to clear instead of keeping possession.
Key threat
Iheanacho has been in lethal form, with six goals and two assists in his past seven games.
With the freedom to choose his positions in attack, he often drifts wide to the right or drops deeper into midfield. In central zones, this allows him to turn away from his markers and run at the defence; his speed and ability to change direction sharply makes him a nightmare to defend against in one-on-one situations.
Vardy’s form might have dropped off, but Leicester’s Fantastic Mr Fox has a knack of turning up in big games.
The fact that Chelsea will play a high line and the defenders will press high will give him plenty of room to run in behind and cause problems. His tendency to drift left will mean that Cesar Azpilicueta is guaranteed to have to a busy afternoon and must be wary of being isolated in a position where Vardy can use his explosive pace and deadly finishing.
Injuries
Harvey Barnes and James Justin are both long-term absentees. Evans is a doubt for the final after sustaining a heel injury in the warm-up against Newcastle, but has returned to training and is likely to feature.
Weaknesses
Evans’ absence would weaken Leicester’s defensive organisation, but even if he features there are major concerns over the third defender in their back three. Caglar Soyuncu and Timothy Castagne both made glaring errors in the defeat against Newcastle. Daniel Amartey, the other centre-back option, hasn’t been reliable either, so attacking the side occupied by the third centre-back could offer the best route to goal.
If Evans is fit, Soyuncu seems the likely third defender and while the Turkish international is no slouch he is a slow starter before he gets into his stride and can be vulnerable against pace.
Leicester have conceded six goals from counters this season – the most by any side in the league.
Leicester possible line-up: Schmeichel; Fofana, Evans, Soyuncu; Ricardo Pereira, Ndidi, Tielemans, Castagne; Maddison; Vardy, Iheanacho.
