The league table puts Chelsea 2 points above United at the moment with the 2 giants ready to face each other at Stamford Bridge tonight. A win for United and they would be a point clear at the top. Sounds simple, doesn't it?? Not quite. What makes it more difficult this year for United to beat Chelsea is not only the fact that they are soarly missing the presence of someone who could create a havoc in Chelsea's rather unusually error-prone defence this year. But they will face their sternest test tonight when they finally line up against a side that plans to pack its midfield with 4 central midfielders!! Yes, that's precisely the core of the much talked about Ancelotti's Diamond Formation.
Diamond formation is only a variant of the conventional 4-4-2 formation. The difference lies in the placement of the 4 midfielders. The 4 midfielders are placed in a diamond-like formation with the player at the top of the diamond playing as a through-ball feeder for the 2 strikers upfornt. Whereas the player on the other end of the diamond guards the defence, while the 2 in the middle make is conjested for the opposition and aim to win maximum possession. This is exactly how Carlo Ancelotti played Chelsea this year. Chelsea lack the pace in their width unlike ManUtd who have the most efficient wingers in Giggs, Evra and Nani. That's how Ancelotti tries to overcome the inherent weakness of his squad by packing his midfield with 4 top- quality central midfield players.
In Michael Essien, Chelsea have one of the best defensive midfielders in the world., who works tirelessly to protect the defence and regain possession whenever lost. In the Ghanian's absence, John Obi Mikel also fits the bill more than adequately.
Then there are 3 world-class midfielders to accomodate in Lampard, Ballack and Deco. Neither Lampard nor Ballack seem comfortable spearheading the diamond but side by side in a slightly deeper role , they are briliiantly creative. And forgotten man Deco has played his best football for Chelsea at the top of the diamond, linking up beautifully with Drogba and Anelka upfront. Add to this the prospect of substitutes viz., Malouda and Zhirkov, it looks lips smacking!
A diamond formation will always dominate possession but will never score goals freely. But that's certainly not the case with Chelsea who've been scoring lavishly. But won't it be a risk to have weak flanks against ManUtd?? It could be a torrid time for the 2 full-backs Cole and Bosingwa against Evra and Giggs (also Obertan if he plays) who love galloping forward skipping past even the best wingers in the league with great ease. But Lampard and Ballack are more than capable of giving their defence a more solid cover when required. Also, if Ancelotti feels the need to negate that threat he can always go back to the old 4-3-3 formation wherein his midfield could be flanked by Malouda or Zhirlkov or Kalou.
Manchester United will feel the heat in the central midfield which has come under pressure this season (esp. against Liverpool) since Scholes and Carrick don't look very settled. Ancelotti knows too well how to keep ManUtd away from getting any possession in the central midfield as his former side- AC Milan had done just the same in a wet Milan night in the semi-finals of UCL where ManU were thumped 3-0. Again, ManU struggled in the central of the midfield against Barcelona.
Citing all the above, it seems best for Chelsea to use the diamond formation against United tonight.
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