Chelsea host Aston Villa on Wednesday night, so what better way to prepare for the game than analysing Chelsea’s play and looking at their strengths and weaknesses.

Overall:

In general Chelsea were very creative against Hull, especially in the first half. Their midfield is perfectly balanced and often the forward will help build up play rather than hang about in the opposition box. Chelsea will most likely play a 4-2-3-1, a formation commonly used under Rafa Benitiez. In midfield almost every player is instrumental in creating opportunities. Hazard will do well out wide and can get pass a player or two with skill, the same can be said about Oscar who can easily find space for himself and his team mates. In front of the defence Chelsea have the experienced Lampard who offers leadership and knows where the goal is. He plays next to Ramires who can be a threat up front and can also supports the defence well.

Chelsea’s defence is completely unchanged for more than a season, Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry and Cole are all very good. Terry is the leader of the defence, he can have his poor odd game but otherwise he’s usually on it. He is a block at the back, and he’ll be the one marking Benteke. Cahill hasn’t played his best football at Chelsea, but if he isn’t playing well, Luiz can be deployed and we know he is good. Their quality defence makes sure that Cech doesn’t have too much do, and often, he doesn’t, but he is prone to the odd mistake as well.

But what makes Chelsea particularly strong is the squad depth, their bench against Hull City was pure quality, Mata was even on it. If things don’t go well for Chelsea in the first half, Mourinho can easily change his team. On top of that, Mourinho is yet to lose at Stamford Bridge.

Weaknesses:

Chelsea were magnificent against Hull Tigers in the first half, in the second their performance lowered and they were defending more than attacking. Mourinho blamed that on players lack of physical and mental fitness, can Aston Villa exploit that? Also, you can frustrate Chelsea, you’ve got to have a well organised defence and a midfield that can work well with the defence. Playing counter-attack is probably the way to go. Their defence doesn’t have that much pace, apart from Luiz of course.

Top 3 Players to Watch:

Hazard, LW: Almost every top team was chasing for his signature back in 2012, Chelsea got their man and he’s getting better in every game. He terrorised the Tigers defence with his pace and skill. He can pick out his team-mates or score a goal himself. If Villa want to beat Chelsea, they’ll have to stop Hazard on the wing.

Mata, CAM: He didn’t play against Hull, that mean’s he’ll probably play against us. Mata has been instrumental at Chelsea ever since he was signed from Valencia. Mata is a very creative player and if any player were to create a goal, it would be him.

Luiz, CB: Luiz was one of the best defenders in the Confederation cup. Luiz is very fast, strong and good on the ball. He’s even scored a few crackers during his time at Chelsea, no wonder the likes of Barcelona and Bayern Munich were interested in him. Luiz also didn’t feature against the Tigers, and it’s still unknown whether or not he’