Thomas Frank told tactical tweak he must make to beat Chelsea, ‘it has been a problematic system for Enzo Maresca’
Enzo Maresca has one flaw at Chelsea, which Spurs and Thomas Frank will be able to take advantage of if the Dane makes one tactical adjustment.
Spurs’ 3-0 win at Everton and Chelsea’s 2-1 defeat against Sunderland, means Frank’s side currently have a three-point advantage of Maresca’s Blues in the Premier League.
Chelsea have won their past two visits to Spurs, with Maresca’s side coming from 2-0 down to win 4-3 on their last visit to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Cole Palmer will be unavailable for Chelsea, and he scored twice in that contest, with the 23-year-old’s absence a major blow for Maresca.
Chelsea struggle against a back five
Chelsea have lost three of their last five Premier League games, and a reason for that could be opposition teams setting up in a back five.
The Daily Mail‘s Kieran Gill, [29 October], calls it a “problematic system for Maresca” and the Italian has been surprised lately at both Nottingham Forest and Sunderland adopting the approach despite favouring a back four.
| Goals Conceded | 11 |
| Goals Conceded per match | 1.2 |
| Expected Goals Conceded | 13.6 |
| Clean Sheets | 3 |
Despite winning the match against Nottingham Forest, Maresca needed three half-time substitutions to turn the game in his teams favour.
Crystal Palace, Brentford and Man United have all taken points off Chelsea using a back five this season, whilst League One Lincoln City nearly pulled off a Carabao Cup shock.
Adaptable Thomas Frank has used back five this season
Frank also prefers to use a four at the back system at Spurs, but the Dane started with a five against PSG in the Super Cup.
Spurs led 2-0 in that match, and stifled PSG’s attacking threat before the Parisians made a late comeback and won the contest on penalties.
However, Cristian Romero’s injury may put a stop to any plans to use a five against Chelsea, with Radu Dragusin and Ben Davies also out.