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The key tactical questions ahead of Chelsea vs Man Utd showdown

  /  autty

The Premier League returns with a bang on Saturday lunchtime when Jose Mourinho takes his Manchester United side to Stamford Bridge to face former club Chelsea.

It will be the first time Mourinho has ever faced Maurizio Sarri and it promises to be a fascinating tactical battle as United try and recover their shaky form and Chelsea try to preserve their unbeaten record.

We take a closer look at some of the areas where the showdown could be won or lost.

IS MOURINHO JUST GOING TO PARK THE BUS?

The gut feeling around this game is that Mourinho will adopt the same strategy he usually does for matches away to high-calibre opposition - United will rock up at Stamford Bridge and park the bus.

It has been a turbulent opening to the season for United, who enter the fixture in eighth position in the Premier League following a succession of shaky - or at best unconvincing - performances.

Throw into the mix the well-documented dressing room discord between Mourinho and a large part of his squad and the temptation to mount a damage limitation exercise is strong.

Then there's the fact Mourinho is returning to his old club, plus this fixture being the beginning of a demanding month for United that sees them also play Juventus twice and Manchester City.

This is not to mention United's terrible recent record away to Chelsea - they lost 1-0 there both in the league and the FA Cup last season and were thrashed 4-0 the season before.

Chelsea won't be compromising on the vibrant attacking football Sarri has brought, so Mourinho could easily conclude the best way to counter this is to sit deep with four defenders and two defensive midfielders.

Let's not forget that Mourinho is the past master in stifling top-level opponents and, while it may go against United's DNA, it has proved effective in the past. The 0-0 draw with Liverpool at Anfield last season is one example.

Mourinho's instinct on Saturday will be to minimise risk, so we could see a return to his more cautious 4-2-3-1 or 4-5-1 with two of Nemanja Matic, Marouane Fellaini or Fred shielding the United back line.

It would see Chelsea dominating possession and United issuing them with a challenge: 'Come and break us down.'

HOW ARE UNITED GOING TO KEEP EDEN HAZARD QUIET?

If he wasn't before, there's no question Hazard is now among the top five footballers in the world and the Belgian is enjoying a sensational season.

Eight goals and three assists from 10 matches so far says everything about how Hazard has been liberated to play his natural attacking game by Sarri since he took over in the summer.

It goes without saying that United need a plan to keep Hazard quiet if they are to come away from west London with anything other than defeat and more disappointment.

Trouble is, having been released from his defensive shackles this season, Hazard has licence to roam right across the forward line from his starting position on the left.

When operating down the channel on that side, Hazard has been ably supported by Marcos Alonso pushing forward and United need to be wary of being overloaded.

So how to curb Hazard's influence? In recent matches, Mourinho has deployed one player - typically Ander Herrera - to remain tight to Hazard throughout.

This worked effectively when United beat Chelsea 2-0 at Old Trafford in April 2017, but Hazard slipped through Herrera's clutches in last season's FA Cup final, scoring the winning goal at Wembley.

Herrera has barely been seen this season and is just returning from an ankle injury, so Mourinho may not have that option available to him this time.

With Hazard marauding a little more, it may be better to adopt a zonal approach to stopping him, with responsibility passing to whoever is nearest.

However, given the muddle that has been United's tactics during most of their matches this season, that could be a disaster waiting to happen.

Hazard could easily drift and pull them out of shape, with the slightest breakdown in communication between those supposed to be marking Hazard enabling the Belgian to add to his impressive goal return.

WHAT ABOUT JORGINHO?

Jorginho's 931 touches and 776 successful passes in the Premier League this season are significantly higher than any other player and he looks right at home pulling the strings from deep in Chelsea's midfield.

Mourinho could be of the opinion that much of Chelsea's attacking threat could be stopped at source if they can get someone close to the Italian.

It's important he isn't allowed time on the ball to pick a defence-splitting pass, and if that means someone like Anthony Martial or Marcus Rashford tracking back to stifle him, then so be it.

If Jorginho is closed down near to the halfway line, there's hope United can steal the ball and outnumber Chelsea on the break with their quick forwards.

But allow Jorginho too much freedom and he'll only enhance those highly impressive stats.

CAN UNITED'S DEFENSIVE LINE HOLD FIRM?

Mourinho has prided himself for years on defensive competence but, perhaps for the first time in his career, he has no clue who his best centre-back pairing is.

His pleas for funds to purchase a world class central defender fell on deaf ears over the summer and it's apparent Mourinho does not have 100 per cent faith in any of his options.

The season started with Eric Bailly alongside Victor Lindelof until the shambolic defeat at Brighton led to Lindelof being paired with Chris Smalling for four matches.

But since scoring an own goal in the defeat at West Ham, Lindelof has been out of favour, with Bailly alongside Smalling in United's two most recent games.

However, Bailly was the man hooked for Juan Mata after just 18 minutes with United two goals down to Newcastle a fortnight ago, so who knows where we stand.

One thing we surely won't see is a return to the three at the back involving a defensive midfielder like Herrera or Scott McTominay we saw in the calamitous defeats to Tottenham and West Ham.

Injuries to Phil Jones and Marcos Rojo have complicated matters for Mourinho but it's doubtful he fully trusts either of them either.

Mourinho's chopping and changing means a settled defensive partnership hasn't been given time to develop this season and United are leaking goals as a result.

They're about to receive their sternest test so far against Hazard, Willian and Olivier Giroud, a combination of strength in the air and with the ball at feet.

Lindelof and Smalling look the likeliest pairing at Stamford Bridge and they will have to discover a resilience that has been completely absent from United this season.

IS THERE ACTUALLY ANY WAY UNITED CAN WIN?

We've mainly discussed ways in which United can contain Chelsea - but is there any way they can come away from Stamford Bridge with three points?

The last thing you'd think Mourinho wants is to open up the play by going on the offensive, but there are ways United can at least try and match Chelsea.

Lining up in a 4-3-3 system would help solve the very real possibility that Romelu Lukaku will be isolated and left to take on Chelsea's defence by himself.

Martial and Rashford both have the pace to trouble Chelsea's back line and they'll only be aided if Marcos Alonso and Cesar Azpilicueta advance forward as they've become accustomed to doing.

The 4-3-3 would also free Paul Pogba to support the attack if Matic and Fellaini are willing to sit in and protect if United lose possession.

Key to United attacking would be Luke Shaw and Antonio Valencia pushing forward to support Martial and Rashford. Fellaini and Matic supplying cover could enable this.

If United can transition and move the ball into the wide areas quickly enough, they could outnumber the Chelsea defence and chances could materialise.

You'd argue that Chelsea will be more effective attacking in this way, but United certainly have their dangermen.

If they were to take on Chelsea at their own, open game initially, and gain an early lead, they could revert to a more defensive strategy to preserve it.

It depends entirely on whether Mourinho approaches the game with the attitude of reducing risk or in actually giving it a proper go.

We are certainly overdue a Mourinho tactical masterclass and he'd like nothing more than for it to occur on his old patch.