Wednesday 29th January 2014
19:45
Stamford Bridge
Chelsea vs West Ham United
Analysis
When you need a win, there are two places you don’t want to go. The first is the Etihad, as we found out earlier this month. The second is Stamford Bridge, particularly when José Mourinho is in charge of Chelsea, or, actually, the home ground of any Mourinho side.
Unbelievably, Mourinho has only ever lost two home league games in his managerial career. Once with Porto against Beira-Mar back in February 2002, and then again with Real Madrid against Sporting de Gijon in April 2011.
So, away banker, right?
We learnt the hard way this season that Chelsea can be ruthless when they want to be. Their attacking foursome of Samuel Eto’o, Willian, Eden Hazard and Oscar can perform to such high levels of quality, that an injury to Fernando Torres and the sale of Juan Mata will barely touch the sides, in terms of reducing their threat.
Of those attacking players, there is one in particular that typifies a Mourinho side. Many criticised the Portuguese for leaving Mata out of his lineup in preference for Oscar at the start of the season, but the little Brazilian has been wonderful this season.
Six goals and two assists in his 20 league appearances don’t really do the attacked justice, as Oscar has an all-round game that has really impressed.
His pass completion rate for the season stands at 82%. He has created 24 chances for his colleagues. He has successfully gone by his man with 50% of his 36 attempted dribbles. He isn’t afraid to challenge in the air, with 55 attempted duels this season.
But what is really impressive about Oscar is his work rate from the front. So far this season, he has attempted 69 tackles. That’s more than three per game. More impressively, he has won 61% of those tackles (42). And unlike other forwards asked to put the foot in, Oscar isn’t one to shirk a physical battle. So far this season, he has not only won more than two tackles per game, but he has also conceded 23 fouls, showing his eagerness and desire to win back the ball.
And possibly his best defensive performance this season came at the Boleyn back in November.
Oscar put in 9 attempted tackles that day, winning 6 of them. He also committed 3 fouls, created three chances, and scored the all-important second goal.
The image below shows his tackles against West Ham. You’ll notice that they are highly concentrated far up the left flank, targeting Guy Demel, in what was a poor performance from the right back. West Ham will need to watch out for this sort of performance from the Brazilian should we hope to gain anything more than a sound beating on Wednesday night.
The other man that all West Ham fans know to watch out for is none other than our very own Frank Lampard.
Here’s how it usually goes: Lampard, out of form / out of the side, gets booed and jeered by the West Ham fans. Then he scores. Then he often scores again.
In 17 appearances against his former club, the now Chelsea legend has managed 7 goals and 5 assists. And his record against us makes for upsetting reading: Pl 17, W 12, D 2, L 3. That’s a win record of 71%.
Last time we played them, Lampard was excellent. He had six shots, four on target, two in the net. Created four chances for his team, had a pass accuracy of 87%, attempted 5 tackles (winning 2), made one interception, and another 5 clearances. It was a wonderful performance, and it really punished us.
We know the England centurion can punish sides, I’d say we know that better than most. If we give him the opportunity to shoot, he will take it, and, against us, he often scores.
The image below shows Lampard’s shots on goal this season.
The final player I thought I’d mention is someone who may not even play. Mohamed Salah is the newest addition to Chelsea’s array of attacking talent, having joined over the weekend from FC Basel.
The reason I thought I’d mention Salah, is that there is a perception amongst some West Ham fans that we are the side against which players break their duck, grab a debut goal, or reach a milestone. When Torres only scored one in his first 15 games or so for Chelsea, who did it come against? You got it.
Most of us don’t know too much about Salah, coming over from the Swiss league, and playing his international football for Egypt has kept him somewhat under the radar. But his displays in the Champions League this season, notably against Chelsea, caused the Blues to snap him up this window.
In Basel’s home game against Chelsea, Salah had an 80% pass accuracy, completed 2 of his 3 attempted take-ons, created two chances for his team, and scored the winning goal. A performance of such quality that Mourinho felt the Egyptian was a capable replacement for the wonderful Mata.
The image below shows Salah’s heat map from that game. It is abundantly clear that the winger will fit in with Chelsea’s attacking style, constantly roaming and switching flanks.
Basically, this is going to be a very tough game.
We won’t expect to get anything, but with the likes of Guy Demel, James Tomkins, George McCartney and Ricardo Vâz Te returning from absence, and the new arrivals Antonio Nocerino and Marco Borriello bolstering the ranks, who knows what could happen?
Head to Head
40% Head to Head Win % 40%
53 Won 53
28 Drawn 28
53 Lost 53
229 Goals Scored 242
242 Goals Conceded 229
Recent Form
W W W W W W Last 6 L L L W L L
13 Goals Scored 4
2 Goals Conceded 19
W W W W W W Home/Away Form W L L L L W
10 Goals Scored 6
3 Goals Conceded 17
Form Player (Last 6 League)
Eden Hazard - Mark Noble
6 Appearances 5
510 Minutes Played 482
193 Sum Squawka Performance Score 83
32 Average Squawka Performance Rating 17
221 Passes Attempted 249
170 Completed 212
77% Success Rate 85%
12 Chances Created 7
1 Assists 0
7 Attempts on Goal 6
4 On Target 2
3 Goals 1
37 Take Ons Attempted 3
21 Successful Take Ons 2
57% Success Rate 67%
8 Tackles Made 26
3 Successful Tackles 9
38% Success Rate 35%
4 Interceptions 13
3 Clearances 9
0 Blocks 5
1 Defensive Actions Per Game 5
7 Aerial Duels 2
3 Won 1
43% Success Rate 50%
0 Defensive Errors 2
0 Leading to a Goal 0
Last Meeting
23 November 2013
0-1 Frank Lampard 21'
0-2 Oscar 34'
0-3 Frank Lampard 82'
4-2-3-1 Starting Formation 4-6-0
Petr Cech - Jussi Jääskeläinen
Branislav Ivanovic - Guy Demel
Gary Cahill - James Tomkins
John Terry - James Collins
Cesar Azpilicueta - Joey O'Brien
Jon Obi Mikel - (40') Joe Cole
Frank Lampard - (40') Jack Collison
Oscar (83') - Mark Noble
Ramires - Stewart Wodning
Eden Hazard (84') - (76') Kevin Nolan
Samuel Eto'o (79') - Ravel Morrison
Subs
Mark Schwarzer - Adrian San Miguel
Ashley Cole - George McCartney
Michael Essien (84') - (76') Matt Jarvis
Juan Mata - Matthew Taylor
Willian - (40') Mohamed Diamé
Andre Schurrle (83') - (40') Modibo Maïga
Demba Ba (79') - Carlton Cole
Absentees
Injured/Doubtful
Chelsea: Winston Reid, Mohamed Diamé, Joe Cole
West Ham United: Marko van Ginkel, Fernando Torres
Suspensions
Chelsea: n/a
West Ham United: n/a
Opposition Last Time Out (League)
vs Manchester United
Goals Scored: 3
Goals Conceded: 1
Starting Formation: 4-2-3-1
Petr Cech
Branislav Ivanovic Gary Cahill John Terry Cesar Azplicueta
Ramires David Luiz
Willian (86') Oscar (68') Eden Hazard
Samuel Eto'o (79')
subs:
Mark Schwarzer
Ashley Cole
Frank Lampard
Juan Mata
Jon Obi Mikel (68')
Nemanja Matic (86')
Fernando Torres (79')
Best Player: Samuel Eto'o
Squawka Rating: 92
Worst Player: Oscar
Squawka Rating: -19
Top 5's (Min 5 Apps)
Goals Scored
Eden Hazard 9 - 4 Carlton Cole
Oscar 6 - 3 Joe Cole
Samuel Eto'o 6 - 3 Ravel Morrison
Frank Lampard 4 - 2 Ricardo Vâz Te
Fernando Torres 4 - 2 Kevin Nolan
Assists
Eden Hazard 5 - 4 Kevin Nolan
Frank Lampard 3 - 3 Matt Jarvis
Juan Mata* 2 - 2 Modibo Maïga
Ashley Cole 2 - 2 Ravel Morrison
Fernando Torres 2 - 1 Andy Carroll
Passing Accuracy
Jon Obi Mikel 90% - 86% Ravel Morrison
John Terry 90% - 84% Mark Noble
Ashley Cole 89% - 82% Stewart Downing
Gary Cahill 86% - 81% Jack Collison
Andre Schurrle 86% - 80% Joe Cole
Chances Created per game
Eden Hazard 2.4 - 1.9 Stewart Downing
Juan Mata* 2.3 - 1.7 Mark Noble
Willian 1.5 - 1.2 Matt Jarvis
Frank Lampard 1.3 - 0.9 Kevin Nolan
Oscar 1.2 - 0.9 Modibo Maïga
Successful Dribbles per game
Eden Hazard 3.5 - 2.1 Mohamed Diamé
Michael Essien 1.4 - 2.1 Ravel Morrison
Willian 1.4 - 1.3 Mark Noble
Fernando Torres 1.2 - 0.9 Stewart Downing
Ramires 1 - 0.8 Guy Demel
Tackles per game
Cesar Azplicueta 3.6 - 2.5 Mark Noble
Ramires 3.2 - 2.5 Mohamed Diamé
Ashley Cole 2.7 - 2.3 James Collins
Oscar 2.5 - 2 Winston Reid
Frank Lampard 2 - 1.8 Kevin Nolan
Aerial Duels Won per game
Branislav Ivanovic 4.2 - 5.9 Modibo Maïga
John Terry 3.3 - 4.5 James Tomkins
Fernando Torres 3.1 - 3.7 James Collins
Gary Cahill 3.1 - 3.2 Winston Reid
David Luiz 2.6 - 2.4 Carlton Cole
Manager
José Mourinho - Sam Allardyce
67.1% Current Club Win % 40%
147 Won 48
45 Drawn 31
27 Lost 41
67.6% Managerial Career Win % 39.7%
452 Won 342
131 Drawn 230
85 Lost 288
7 League Titles 2
13 Cup Wins 0
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