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According to former Chelsea striker Chris Sutton the FA Cup semi final clash is crucial for both clubs as they bid to ‘save’ their season – and their futures.
If Chelsea lose it could signal an early exit for under fire coach Antonio Conte, he claims. Southampton, Sutton contends, have only the FA Cup to play for on their seemingly inevitable way down to the Championship.
It is a brutal assessment from a man whose one season at Stamford Bridge was hardly covered in glory either. But it sums up how important today’s proceedings are.
Sutton, who will be part of BT Sport’s team covering the game, says: “It was quite incredible what Conte achieved last season, winning the title after taking over a team in such disarray.
“But I don’t think he will be there next season, so it probably makes this a must win for him. I don’t think Chelsea can get into the top four now, so the FA Cup will be his top priority.
“This is Conte’s opportunity to leave on a high, but if Chelsea lose it may accelerate his departure. And if he doesn’t stay will Hazard still be there? Will Willian be there?
“The players showed at Southampton last week coming back from two down that they are still committed, but the club has to move on, and move on quickly. It is very hard to attract players when they don’t know who the manager will be. The worst thing for a football club is uncertainty.”
And while we’re on the subject of uncertainty, Sutton believes Conte’s biggest problem this afternoon will be which striker to start with, Morata or Giroud – or both.
“He hasn’t been sure who his best striker is,” Sutton observes. “But Chelsea are a better side for having a player like Giroud up front. Hazard and Willian both benefit from having a player like him to focus on.
“Chelsea have a good record in the FA Cup as well, and however turbulent this season has been for them this (success in the Cup) will give them better hope for next season. And it will be a fitting way for Conte to finish at Chelsea.”
Sutton genuinely believes that the ebullient Italian’s eventual departure won’t affect his players too much today. “They will focus on the job in hand and a season that has been a disappointment for them. They will also want a good ending,” he claims.
Meanwhile, Chelsea’s old boy can’t see things changing at the club, even after Conte has gone.
“There will be huge expectations of a new manager. Will he want to work under the conditions Conte had? Will he want a bigger say in transfers and signings? It is a huge burden whoever it (the new manager) is,” he warns.
But what about Southampton? Sutton is even more dubious about their prospects.
“You have three teams who will be absolutely desperate to win the FA Cup, but I think Southampton will be psychologically damaged by last week’s defeat (to Chelsea).
“This is a team low on confidence, and it will be a miracle if they stay up,” Sutton believes. “They are in serious trouble and the only people to blame for this are the board.
“They fantasised after finishing eighth in the Premier League and got bored with the football that Claude Puel played. It was a fantasy and it has backfired spectacularly.
“They didn’t want to admit they got the sacking of Puel wrong and (consequently) waited so long to sack Mauricio Pellegrino. They are the only people to blame for taking so long.”
Watch Chelsea v Southampton in the Emirates FA Cup semi-final on Sunday/today on BT Sport 2 from 2:30pm.
Antonio Conte, much to everyone’s surprise but especially those who had proclaimed loud and clear that he was suddenly washed up and devoid of new ideas, unveiled a brand new twist on the 3-4-3/3-5-2 formation family on Thursday, marrying his trend-setting three-man defence with an old school front two of “pure” strikers. Apparently not since 2011, with Drogba and Torres have Chelsea fielded two actual strikers in a pair (as opposed to a striker on the wing, like Rémy would play on occasion).
Drogba and Torres didn’t play much together in their 18 months as teammates at Stamford Bridge, which is all we need to know about how that experiment turned out. Giroud and Morata didn’t exactly light the world on fire either against Burnley — similar to how the first run-out of the fabled 3-4-3 was an underwhelming performance in a 2-0 win over Hull City in 2016 with Willian and Costa scoring identical curling efforts from the top of the box — but they showed good link-up and understanding for a maiden effort.
Conte hinted at further use of this setup in the near future, but whether that means Sunday’s semifinal against Southampton is very much up for debate. The central issue, even if we ignore the short rest is that this version of the 3-5-2 doesn’t have an obvious role for Eden Hazard. It utilizes neither a shadow striker (like the 3-5-1-1 seen earlier this season) or a no.10, as a more generic 3-5-2 setup might. Against Burnley, both Pedro and Bakayoko played advanced midfielders, putting in effort and work at both ends of the pitch. While Willian could conceivably fill a similar role, it’s tough to see Hazard deployed there. It’s not an obvious fit for Fàbregas either.
Having said that, the predicted line-up for tomorrow’s FA Cup semi-final will revolve around this two striker 3-5-2, as I believe this should be our starting until the end of the season. Conte may yet go for the more mundane and expected 3-4-3, but having just faced Saints last weekend, another tactical surprise could be useful.
In either case, the goalkeeper and defence choose themselves — unless Caballero! — with Christensen returning to the starting eleven. At wing back, Moses and Emerson should retain their places after impressing on on Thursday. The former was named Man of the Match against Burnley; the latter was useful with his crosses which the right-footed Zappacosta wouldn’t be able to replicate. If Chelsea play two strikers, proper deliver into the box will be of paramount importance.
