In this article…
Enzo Maresca has made a promising start to life in the Chelsea dugout with the Blues currently sitting inside the top 4 just past the halfway mark of the Premier League season. The former Leicester City manager has impressed fans with his tactical approach as well as his plain speaking nature in interviews.
His tactical approach to games focuses on positional play and rotations which are designed to give his side flexibility and control. Control being a key word, Maresca is very methodical and doesn’t like to change his approach often, some will see this as stubbornness but Maresca has defended his position and even gone as far to completely exclude players from the squad that don’t suit his vision.
All stats below correct at the time of writing 14/01/2025
✏️ Tactical Analysis: In Possession
Enzo Mareca likes his side to have the ball, only Manchester City (61.5%) have averaged more possession than Chelsea (58.4%) in the Premier League this season.
They line up in a 3-2-4-1 shape when they have the ball which sees one of the fullbacks tucking inside which allows one of the midfielders to push forward and form the 4 in behind the lone striker.
Alternatively, the fullback can be asked to occupy some of the advanced half spaces if it’s a more defensively minded pivot by pushing to become one of these 10s.
Maresca has tweaked this slightly in some games with the variation of profiles he has in the squad – Cucurella and Gusto are the players to watch in these spaces.
Moises Caicedo played RB against Bournemouth and when Chelsea are in possession he occupies the space to join the attack, leaving Cucurella to make a back 3.
The idea of this shape is to create overloads all over the pitch, Chelsea possess real quality in the final third in particular but getting these players to combine effectively was a real challenge for Mauricio Pochettino last term leading to Chelsea relying on the talent of Cole Palmer alone to carry them through games.
There is also stability with this shape, the back 3 and the midfield pivot really assist Chelsea in limiting the amount of transition, this is key in Premier League football with many of the weaker sides relying on transition to create chances for their forwards.
Patience is something that also seems to underpin Enzo Maresca’s philosophy, the back 3 (Colwill in particular) are instructed to be very calm on the ball and take plenty of touches to bait the opposition.
This is a practice we are starting to see across the board in the Premier League, it can be a bit frustrating to watch as a fan but there is a method to it, this is known as the ‘low build up phase’ which also sees goalkeeper Robert Sanchez involved to act as an extra man, once again to create an overload to beat the opposition press.
Once Chelsea progress out of this ‘low build up phase’, they enter a second phase of build up where we see the 3-2-4-1 shape more clearly. This is the ‘high build up phase’ and is more focused on the double pivot combining with the back 3 to find a path to the wide players where they can have 1v1 or 2v1 opportunities creating space for the two advanced no 10s and striker.
Quick Analysis
- When Chelsea have the ball they are aiming to create overloads in all phases of play with a focus on unlocking the talents of their attacking players, particularly Cole Palmer.
- The 3-2-4-1 shape is designed to allow the wide players to have plenty of 1v1 opportunities and protect Chelsea when the ball is turned over with a solid 5 man shape giving them the ability to win the ball back quickly and sustain attacks.
✏️ Tactical Analysis: Out Of Possession
Defensively is where Chelsea have had problems this campaign, particularly over recent weeks with defeats to Ipswich and Fulham just slightly derailing any potential title charge. They’ve conceded 24 goals this season which is more than any of the top 5 sides in the league and also are currently conceding 10.95 shots per game.
When without the ball, Chelsea revert to the shape you see on paper with the fullback that’s inverted or pushed into the half space returning to form a back 4 and the rest of the side becoming very narrow to stop teams progressing through the middle.
Out of possession Chelsea’s fullbacks invert creating a standard 4 at the back, but seem to get overrun.
The obvious weakness with this shape is that the opposition can hit the space vacated by the adventuring fullback if they are quick enough, this is where Moises Caicedo’s role becomes crucial for Chelsea. He often is the covering player when the opposition can progress the ball quickly enough to that space, it’s a clever profile fit with Caicedo having previously played at fullback.
Chelsea’s high line also tempts the opposition to force the ball forward, what Maresca wants is the opposition to panic with the ball whilst his side keep their control and shape and more importantly, know how to put together an attack when they win the ball back.
The profile of a player is very important to Maresca, he’s already shown that he won’t try and adapt his system to the players he has, they have to be the right player for his system. This is most evident with Wesley Fofana, his pace in behind allowed Chelsea to push up the pitch with confidence. Since his injury, Chelsea have struggled to find the dominance in games they were having earlier in the season and it’s largely due to the lack of profiles like Fofana in the Chelsea squad who have the speed required to play this role.
Quick Analysis
- Chelsea have some work to do to perfect their shape and attitude out of possession.
- Certain profiles are very important for this style of play to succeed and it’ll be interesting to see how Maresca adapts his approach going forward with a lack of suitable profiles in certain positions, notably striker and centre back.
📐 Unique Player Betting Angles
Cole Palmer
Cole Palmer is crucial to Chelsea, Enzo Maresca has opted to play him as a number 10 which is a slight change from last season where Pochettino played Palmer off the right hand side. This move hasn’t affected his output with the 22 year old still registering 19 goal contributions across his 20 appearances this season.
What this slight tweak has done is see Palmer more involved in the ‘high build up phase’ of Chelsea’s play. When Chelsea break through the lines of the opposition press, the first instinct is to find Palmer who often looks for the wide players every opportunity he gets to create those overloads which are so crucial to how Chelsea play.
Potential Betting Angles:
➡️ Palmer shots (3.60 p/90)
➡️ Palmer shots from outside the area (48.5% of shots from outside the box)
➡️ Palmer goal contributions (20 G/A this campaign, leads squad in both metrics)
Levi Colwill
Levi Colwill has pretty much been an ever present in Enzo Maresca’s side, he’s featured in all but 1 of Chelsea’s Premier League games this season. Colwill has had more touches of the ball than any other Chelsea player this season (1668 – 87.8 per 90).
This summarises Colwill’s role in the squad, he’s crucial in the ‘low build up phase’ by attempting to bait the opposition using Robert Sanchez as a temporary outfield player when appropriate.
This means that Colwill dictates the tempo when Chelsea start to create attacks, it’s possibly the most important role in an Enzo Maresca side. He encourages his side to wait for the right pass rather than to force the wrong one and Colwill has shown he has the right temperament for this.
Potential Betting Angles:
➡️ Colwill Fouls Won (0.74 p/90)
➡️ Colwill Passes (90.3% pass accuracy, more touches than any other Chelsea player)
Malo Gusto/Marc Cucurella
The fullbacks are the most versatile in an Enzo Maresca system, he’s experimented with both Cucurella and Gusto in these positions and has even gone as far as changing which one inverts or pushes into the half spaces during a game.
Both players have shown competency in these roles but Marc Cucurella appears to be slightly more comfortable with this additional role as well as his defensive responsibilities but it depends on the opposition, for example in Chelsea’s draw with Arsenal earlier in the season he was instructed to focus on the dangerous Bukayo Saka. If Gusto is tasked with the more adventurous fullback role, keep an eye on Moises Caicedo for added defensive responsibilities.
Potential Betting Angles:
➡️ Gusto shots (1.23 p/90)
➡️ Gusto shots from outside the area (64.7% of shots from outside the box)
➡️ Cucurella tackles (1.24 per 90)
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