Alex Keble's Talking Tactics: Five tactical questions ahead of the European matches for Premier League clubs
Alex Keble considers five tactical questions for the Premier League clubs in Champions League action this week.
1) How will Manchester City perform against possession-based opponents for the first time this season?
Despite their superb start to the campaign, Manchester City are yet to face a side willing to confront them with a territorial battle. That makes the visit of Napoli an intriguing contest on Tuesday evening. Victory for the Serie A leaders, who have won all eight of their league games, could provide Premier League clubs with a new template for success.
Napoli are a patient possession team that like to play in a hybrid 4-3-3 with a holding player, two creative midfielders, and a pair of inside forwards supporting Dries Mertens. Their desire to play expansive and fluid football is reflected in the statistics; Napoli average 60.2 per cent possession in the league, more than any other Italian club, and dominated the ball away at AS Roma last weekend.
Pep Guardiola’s side aren’t familiar with this system, and therefore must adapt accordingly. Firstly, he needs to field a second holding midfielder alongside Fernandinho (Fabian Delph or Ilkay Gundogan) and secondly he must ensure Kyle Walker does not race forward in attack. Forty-eight per cent of Napoli’s attacks come down their left, highlighting Lorenzo Insigne’s importance when cutting in from that side. His battle with Walker could be decisive.
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2) Can Tottenham’s injury-hit midfield cope with the movement of Isco and Luka Modric?
Spurs’ 3-1 win against Borussia Dortmund at Wembley proved they are capable of sitting back and awaiting opportunities to counter-attack, but at the Bernabeu their task will be significantly harder, not least because Victor Wanyama is unavailable and Moussa Dembele could still miss out. Luka Modric and Isco, likely to deputise for the injured Gareth Bale, could run rings around a midfield lacking in top-level composure.
Isco will drop into a left wing position when Spurs have the ball, but for the most part he will drift infield to become a number 10 behind Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo, using his late entry into the zone to his advantage. Isco is incredibly difficult to mark and, with Modric and Toni Kroos behind him, sees plenty of the ball.
Eric Dier isn’t energetic enough to deal with such nimble midfielders, Harry Winks is too raw for a contest as daunting as this one, and we all know how inconsistent Moussa Sissoko can be. Mauricio Pochettino is going to struggle badly in central midfield, which should ultimately cost his side the match.
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3) Will Manchester United rediscover their attacking speed against Benfica’s ageing defence?
Jose Mourinho’s side have been gradually slowing down over the last few weeks, which is a worrying sign for fans as we head towards winter. United set up with a surprisingly high line during the first 45 minutes against Liverpool at Anfield which, coupled with Mourinho���s decision to play 4-2-3-1 rather than 4-3-3, suggests he wanted to play a bolder attacking game than his players managed. Romelu Lukaku and Henrikh Mkhitaryan were too leggy as a duo, leaving United penned in for much of the game and unable to counter into the open spaces behind the Liverpool defence.
United need to re-find their verve or risk the problem snowballing as confidence drains out of players who have spent most of the last four years playing low-tempo football. Luckily for Mourinho, his next opponents are porous.
Benfica’s 5-0 defeat to FC Basel in their last Champions League outing was characterised by constant high-speed counter-attacks from the Swiss hosts – which isn’t too surprising considering their Brazilian centre-backs Luisao and Jardel are 36 and 31 respectively. Wednesday’s game is the perfect opportunity for Lukaku to turn up the speed and land United another thumping victory.
HAT-TRICK HERO: Romelu Lukaku 18/1 to net treble with Sky Bet!
4) Can Edin Dzeko steal the points in a nervy contest against Chelsea?
Chelsea’s back-to-back Premier League defeats have left them in a precarious psychological position heading into a crucial Champions League tie against Roma this week. Defeat would spark talk of a new crisis at Stamford Bridge and hand Atletico Madrid the opportunity to move within two points of the Premier League champions in this group.
It will be a tight and tense match quite possibly settled by one moment of quality - and Eden Dzeko is the in-form striker likely to come up trumps, particularly given that Chelsea’s 5-3-1-1 formation, as used in Madrid last month, will likely limit their goalscoring opportunities.
David Luiz, who often becomes erratic when confidence is dipping, looked shaky against Crystal Palace and thus might be targeted by the Bosnian striker. Dzeko has netted eight goals in nine games in all competitions this season.
DZEKO DELIGHT: Edin Dzeko 13/8 with Sky Bet to score against Chelsea!
5) Is there any hope for ultra-defensive Celtic in Munich?
The tactical pattern of this match is easy to predict. Celtic held just 31.5 per cent possession against Paris Saint-Germain in their first group game, a stat that is likely to decrease at the Allianz Arena. Sadly for Brendan Rodgers, Carlo Ancelotti has left and things are looking up for the German champions.
Bayern Munich put their dreadful start to the season behind them with a 5-0 win against Freiburg in the first match of Jupp Heynckes’ fourth spell in charge of the club, leaving Celtic with an almost impossible task. However, goal difference could become very important for the Scottish champions should they finish level on points with Anderlecht in third, meaning dogged defending and a narrow defeat would, strangely enough, be a decent result.
The key players for Celtic are Scott Brown, whose aggression could rough up the Bayern players, and Leigh Griffiths, who must run the channels superbly in order to get Celtic up the pitch and give his defenders a breather.
CLOSE CONTEST: Bayern Munich to win by one goal at 9/2 with Sky Bet!
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