......................................Team Gio.....................................................................................................Team bleezy.........................................
TEAM GIO
TACTICS:
Our 4-3-3 is based around Mourinho's 2004-2006 Chelsea winning machine that raised the bar in the Premier League. Alongside that tactical model we have chosen the majority of our players from the era when the Premier League was its most competitive on the continent, with 9 of our starters hitting their peak during the 2000s. Anyone from outside that timeframe has importantly proven their credibility at World Cups.
At the heart of our defence we pair together the sole two defenders who have ever won the Premier League Player of the Season award in Nemanja Vidic and Vincent Kompany. Vidic's performance level has been such that he has won the award twice and he was the beating heart behind United's great team of the late 2000s. Alongside him is Kompany who was three times in the PFA Team of the Year and part of the ESM European Team of the Year in 2011/12, and a huge reason behind City's success since 2010. Together they form an impressive and influential central defensive partnership. On the right of the back four is Dan Petrescu who was part of the Overseas Premiership Team of the Decade and remains the standout overlapping right-back. Proven at every stage, from his early career reaching European Cup Finals with Steau Bucharest, to the 1990, 1994 and 1998 World Cups, to his time in England (1.5 seasons at Sheffield Wednesday and a further 5 at Chelsea). On the opposite flank is Jan Vertonghen who was part of the 2012/13 PFA Team of the Year and can naturally tuck in as a third defender if Petrescu moves forward. That quality is likely to be particularly useful when up against the inside-cutting Alexis Sanchez. Behind the defence is one of the Premiership's greatest in Edwin Van der Sar whose excellent reading of the gameenabled him to operate as one of the best keepers in Europe until his late 30s.
The midfield is carefully crafted around getting the best out of Steven Gerrard who has the freedom to dictate from his favoured central/right channel and bomb forward beyond a relatively lightweight midfield. A record 8 times in the PFA Team of the Year, Gerrard was good for over 20 goals a campaign as he did three times in four seasons during the mid-to-late 2000s. Perhaps the most talismanic player the Premiership has seen, with the right midfield platform he was nigh-on unstoppable in his prime and won so many games that his otherwise underwhelming Liverpool sides had no right to win. Alongside him is the great Patrick Vieira. He was an ever-present in the PFA Team of the Year for 6 consecutive seasons, winning the Premier League Player of the Year award in 2000/01 and a colossal tour de force behind two great Arsenal teams. In this match he is likely to control the game by dominating both through his physicality and by imposing his class through his reliable passing and telling early balls forward. That swashbuckling pair are perfectly supported by the standout midfield anchor Claude Makelele whose selflessness and discipline absolutely maximised the ability of Frank Lampard and somehow gelled a top-heavy collection of Galacticos attackers into a functioning midfield. Against today's opposition, this trio should boss the match.
Our front three is led by Arsenal's Emmanuel Adebayor, whose 24 goals in 36 Premier League games in 2007/08 showed what he could do when fit and motivated. What he also brings to the table is bristling strength and hulking hold-up play and the kind of threat that Rio and Kolo will not enjoy facing. Supporting him from the right is Carlos Tevez whose diligent endeavour, hustle and goal threat makes him a perfect contributor to a front three as he showcased so effectively in United's 4-3-3. Importantly here he is a bad match for Le Saux who will struggle with his grizzle and endless running. Offering the genuine wingplay and wide threat is Arjen Robben who was "often unplayable at times" with his searing pace and ability to beat a man. He should have the beating of Arbeloa here and was a crucial component in Mourinho's 4-3-3 both in providing proper width and creating space for midfield runners and central attackers.
WHY WE WILL WIN:
- We will win the midfield battle. Mascherano is going to be working overtime scrambling around after everyone. Makelele should have Van der Vaart in his pocket. Peak Vieira will have the beating of Chelsea Fabregas. And Gerrard will storm through the lot of them: he has the perfect platform to burst forward. It's an imposing and dominating midfield up against a tidy but lightweight one.
- Our attack will get the better of Bleezy's defence. Robben should outstrip Arbeloa and create a number of chances. Although Ferdinand is a class act, Adebayor has previous in getting the better of him and isn't the sort of attacker Rio will relish coming up against. Le Saux will find Tevez's aggression, graft and physicality a struggle.
- We have a defence that can match up to Bleezy's impressive attack. We have two centre-halves from the top tier which is precisely what you want against Aguero. Dan Petrescu is also from that top bracket and, as well as being a penetrative outlet going forward, is a cut above what Hazard usually faces in the Premier League. Tactically it works as Vertonghen will tuck right in, almost operating as a third centre-back, to squeeze out the space for Sanchez.
- Crucially we don't just leave the back four to get on with it, we have Makelele patrolling in front of them which will be especially important given Hazard and Sanchez's tendency to cut inside. We also have Vieira and Gerrard offering further support. Ultimately as a unit we're significantly better defensively than the opposition.
