Thread by @InvertTheWing

Chelsea vs. Tottenham, the game where Pochettino returns to his old club 4 years after his sack as part of one of their main rivals, the game which will be Postecoglou’s toughest game yet.

Here is what to expect, my predictions, and how Tottenham can tackle Chelsea's threat.

In the modern era of football, it is very rare you are seeing a top team in the Premier League have so much focus on width, rather they have started to favour the use of inverted fullbacks. Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool, Tottenham are all examples like this. But this is not the case with Chelsea.

Football is a game of trends. It is the game of getting the edge over your opponent. And naturally, football tactics evolve to counteract these trends. And that is why in the modern landscape, I have a lot of respect for Howe and Pochettino. They are not following the trends, like someone like Jurgen Klopp, they are making them.

And my previous match threads have talked about why Sheffield United, Brentford, and Luton Town will all be difficult games. And the answer was simple, the amount of width they play with. This is naturally difficult for teams who invert to deal with, particularly when they lose possession, being vulnerable in wide areas without having time to regroup.

Now, these teams are all midtable or relegation calibre. But not Chelsea. Chelsea, alongside Newcastle, are 2 teams who do indeed still focus on width, without having midtable/relegation calibre players. And at the start of the season, I said these 2 will be your hardest games of the season. And I still stand by that. This will be Postecoglou’s biggest test to date.

Chelsea look to keep width in an interesting way. They perfectly balance the use of their fullbacks, often playing an asymmetrical formation to not leave both flanks overexposed.

One of the fullbacks stays deeper (As of recent, usually Cucurella or Colwill), whilst the other bursts up the flanks like a traditional fullback (Usually Gusto, but I presume Reece James will play a game like this).

In this game, I fear Pochettino may opt to play a bit more attacking, with both Cucurella and James bursting down the flanks, to exploit Tottenham’s high line. A bit higher risk, but it is higher reward.

Tottenham against such teams that focus on width become more vulnerable defensively. This may sound obvious, but retaining possession is absolutely key. You lose possession, Chelsea will be absolutely devastating on the counter, more so than the likes of Brentford.

Why? Mykhailo Mudryk. Mykhailo Mudryk is the player that breaks or makes this game.

From a completely objective and unbiased standpoint, I cannot even seem to visualise how Pedro Porro will deal with him. In transition, and in the form he has finally seemed to have found, he is one of the scariest players in the world.

His ability to originate from the left flank, and then proceed to attack the half space left by the fullback inverting is second to none.

To counteract this, I think a small change would be for out of possession, Van De Ven and Romero to switch sides. Things like this will absolutely be key for Tottenham, the subtle differences. Having Van De Ven to cover him out of possession will severely boost Porro’s confidence, and perhaps allow a bit more aggressive style of play without worrying about the repercussions.

If Pedro Porro proves me wrong, and is able to keep Mudryk quiet all night, then I will not question his defensive ability for the foreseeable future.

Chelsea will look to win possession, and then quickly switch play to Mudryk. That is why it is absolutely crucial to firstly, close down the space to prevent switches of play, and secondly, direct play down the opposite flank to Mudryk as much as possible, to minimise his threat.

Again, this is all dependent on whether he is even match fit, seeing as he is recovering from injury. But despite this, I think Sterling on the left flank will still pose a big threat, albeit to a lesser extent.

I still as a matter of fact expect Sterling to start, just on the opposite flank, where he is much less of a threat. Rather than cutting in an exploiting the half spaces, he will look to overlap much more. This is much less of a threat. So like I said, the primary focus will be on Mudryk.

Tottenham will look to break past a robust midfield of Gallagher-Enzo-Caicedo. And again, this midfield is very hard to deal with for teams that invert, solely because of Gallagher’s pressing ability, it almost negates having that extra man in midfield. But for Tottenham, they have one handy trick up their sleeve.

One of the most press resistant midfielders in the world. Yves Bissouma. He will be the most important player for Tottenham, how he withstands that midfield pressure, and is able to progress the ball.

Because if you recall, I said you want to avoid playing the ball into wide areas, to reduce the chances of counter attacks from places where there is a greater chance of threat. So naturally, you want to look to attack the central areas. And the key facilitator for that will be Yves Bissouma.

The sequence is simple. Yves Bissouma looks to bait the press from Gallagher, and use his supreme ball carrying abilities to find Maddison, who can exploit the space generated by Gallagher pushing up to find a gap.

And if Bissouma is successful with what he is tasked to do, similar to Mudryk against the Tottenham defense, I do not think Chelsea’s defense will be able to cope with the pace and intelligence of Son’s runs in behind. I can see him scoring a brace as a result. But like I said, Bissouma will have to enable that opening. Sarr will also get a lot of free runs into the box as a result.

I feel a lot of Chelsea’s attacking build up will stem through Palmer, Enzo Fernandez and the fullbacks.

Palmer I presume will either undertake a False 9 role, where he is given freedom, unless Pochettino prefers to play with 2 inverted wingers, in that case I can see Sterling as the 9.

But in the case of the former, I can see him being the link between midfield and attack. Dropping deep, and frequently switching play to the wider areas and Cucurella and James. This will be something to watch out for.

The final dagger Chelsea have is Tottenham’s lack of aerial dominance vs their crossing abilitity from the likes of James, Cucurella, Palmer, and even Gallagher and Enzo possess decent deliveries.

Tottenham need to minimse the freedom they give players to cross, and also look to minimise the amount of corners they concede. It may sound like the obvious, but particularly in a game like this, it is something to keep an eye on.

And a final key point, I will quote my previous tweet:
“But there is a very interesting factor here. And that is Pochettino.

The amount of abuse he will get will be a level that we have not heard. Will he succumb to the pressure? Will he intentionally (or unintentionally, subconsciously) sabotage himself?

Think of it how a man is like once he regrets leaving his ex-girlfriend, and then links up with her again years later. You will still feel a connection with her, as much as you don't want to, you will also begin to act differently, and you may not realise it.

The first 45 minutes will be crucial vs. Tottenham. Even if it is 0-0, it will put pressure on the mentally weak Pochettino, and cause him to overthink.”

From a tactical standpoint, this is actually very tricky. The only reason I am predicting a draw is Postecoglou's sublime home record, and also the experience Chelsea lack.

I think this will be a game ran by 2 people, Son Heung Min, and Mykhailo Mudryk. The way Chelsea deal with Son is the way they deal with Bissouma. The way Tottenham deal with Mudryk is the way they minimise possession lost in the left hand channels, whilst also of course, how defensively aware Porro is.

I am predicting a 2-2 game. We will see a very good game. One of the best of the season for a neutral to watch.