Chelsea Evolution Under Villas-Boas Aim to Overturn Last Season's Defeat to United

Andre Villas-Boas faces the first major test of his Chelsea tenure with a trip to Old Trafford this Sunday. Having dropped just two points at home last season, United will be favourites for this one; indeed, it was only four away league games ago that Chelsea last travelled to face Sir Alex Ferguson’s side, with the 2-1 defeat all but ending their hopes of retaining the title. Here, WhoScored analyses both sides’ form so far this season and looks back to last season’s showdown to see how Villas-Boas’ tactics may offer a different type of game this time round:

Team Evolution
United’s side has evolved rapidly this season already; only three of the players that took to the field in last week’s game at Bolton played in the Chelsea showdown- Rio Ferdinand, Wayne Rooney and Javier Hernandez. Their 100% record so far is a measure of Fergie’s ability to mould new sides without losing any momentum and the United boss made eight changes to his midweek lineup in Benfica with Sunday’s game in mind.

The acquisition of Ashley Young has added to their edge out wide and the emergence of Anderson as a key figure in central midfield this season have been crucial in United’s start. The likes of Chris Smalling and Phil Jones have shown a maturity and adaptability that has afforded United plenty of options in light of injuries to both Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand at the back.

Chelsea are in a period of transition under Villas-Boas and –if he’s given time- it may take another season before he has the personnel required to suit his preferred style of play. Five of the players that took to the field at Old Trafford started last week at Sunderland- Frank Lampard, John Terry, Ashley Cole, Petr Cech and Branislav Ivanovic.

The arrival of Juan Mata has added flair and creativity to the Chelsea ranks while both Daniel Sturridge and Jose Bosingwa, in particular, have added drive down the right as Villas-Boas looks to revitalise his ageing side. New signing Raul Meireles, while clearly not the playmaker Villas-Boas required as he fruitlessly pursued Luka Modric, offers variety in midfield- last week’s trip to Sunderland saw him play as the deepest of the midfield three.

Form So Far
A look at the WhoScored's Top 20 ranked players highlights United’s sensational start to the season; seven of their players feature, with Wayne Rooney leading the way. Joint-top scorer in Europe with Mario Gomez on 8 goals, Rooney (9.19) has scored in every league game this term and comes into the match on the back of successive hat-tricks. On the flanks, Young (7.65) and Nani (7.89) have supplied 3 goals and 6 assists between them, while Javier Hernandez (7.53) grabbed 2 goals on his first-team return at Bolton last weekend.

Chelsea’s main problem remains up front; neither Fernando Torres or Didier Drogba have found the net so far and the club’s record of four wins and one draw in all competitions has almost been in spite of their inept forwards. Only two players feature in the Top 20; Juan Mata (7.80) has made an immediate impact, scoring in two of his three appearances in all competitions while Frank Lampard (7.52) has scored only once, from the penalty spot.

A look at both team’s stats highlight just how wasteful Chelsea have been in front of goal. Both teams have averaged 15 shots per game but while United have found the net 18 times, Chelsea have scored a mere 7.

Judging by the number of shots each team have conceded per game, Chelsea will be afforded plenty of chances at Old Trafford, though- United’s opponents have fired off an average of 20 attempts per match, while Chelsea have conceded just 9 shots per match; it’s the worst versus the best records in the league so far, though both clubs have conceded the same number of goals (3).

In terms of possession, United have averaged 56% per game so far - the same as last season- whereas Chelsea’s ball retention has increased markedly under Villas-Boas; 58% last term has jumped to an average of 65% possession this time round. Clearly, while the end product is somewhat lacking at the moment, the new boss is definitely making a difference to their style of play.

Last Time Round
Last season’s game was shaped by Javier Hernandez’s goal within the first 60 seconds. A slip-up by David Luiz –in what proved to be his last act as a Chelsea player under Carlo Ancelotti- allowed the Mexican to fire home and, with Chelsea having to win, the early lead allowed United’s game plan to immediately change.

Fergie’s side sat back and allowed their opponents possession, knowing that the more Chelsea moved forward, the more susceptible they were to the pace of Hernandez on the counter. A Nemanja Vidic goal on 23 minutes all but sealed it and although Frank Lampard pulled one back midway through the second half, United had no real need to go on the offensive.

This is highlighted by the fact they averaged 55% possession and 14 goal attempts per game at Old Trafford last term but for this game, they had 48% and 10 in comparison.  Fergie knew that if they avoided defeat, the title was almost in the bag and Hernandez’s opener made the job much easier than it was perhaps anticipated.

A look at the Chelsea defence’s average positions from the Old Trafford showdown in comparison to last week’s trip to Sunderland highlights how much more width Chelsea are playing with at the back under Villas-Boas. In last season’s game, the full-backs Cole (3) and Ivanovic (2) were closer to the centre halves and Mikel (12) sat deep in midfield before his half-time substitution.

At the Stadium of Light on Saturday, Cole (3) and Bosingwa (17) were spread far wider, as the Blues use much more of the pitch. Meireles (16) is far more attack-minded than Mikel in the defensive midfield role and unless Villas-Boas changes his tactics and chooses to operate less offensively, this bodes well for an open, attacking game of football on Sunday afternoon. Even a goal from Hernandez after 60 seconds won’t prevent that.