PRE-MATCH BRIEFING: CHELSEA V ATLETICO MADRID - PART TWO
In the second part of their preview to Chelsea's second appearance in the Super Cup, club historian Rick Glanvill and club statistician Paul Dutton look at the way the teams may play and the figures behind the fixture…
TACTICAL BRIEF
Both sides arrive in good shape. Chelsea are three points clear at the top of the Barclays Premier League, while Atlético lie sixth in the Primera División, unbeaten so far and having whacked bottom club Athletic Bilbao 4-0 on Monday evening. But only one of the last eight UEFA Super Cup winners has gone on to win their domestic title.
Key battles
Fernando Torres will face his club at which he was an icon for the first time since leaving for Liverpool in 2007. He is in a fine run of form, with three goals in four matches. His instant understanding with new man Eden Hazard has given the previous relationship with fellow Spaniard Juan Mata extra flexibility, which makes the Blues less predictable in the final third than sometimes previously.
That is maybe one of the reasons Chelsea have extended the club record for penalties scored in successive matches at the start of a league season to three this campaign; previously it was one.
In Diego Simeone's usual 4-2-3-1 (he has used a back three with wing-backs in full-back Filipe's absence recently) the task of dealing with that triangular threat through the centre falls to deep-lying midfielders Mario Suárez and skipper Gabriel Fernandez, and South American centre-backs Diego Godín and Joao Miranda. The rojiblanco mark zonally, not man-for-man, which may offer space for the Blues quick interplay to exploit.
Midfielder Emre Belözoglu is one of several familiar faces in the Atléti line-up. While at Galatasaray he played all 90 minutes of the Londoners' stunning 5-0 victory at on Gala's Ali Sami Yen stadium in October 1999. (Roberto Di Matteo, a Chelsea player back then, missed the game through injury.)
It is no.10 Arda Turán who usually links most effectively with danger man Radamel Falcao in Diego Simeone's side - another big challenge for John Mikel Obi, who played so well against Newcastle. One of the best finishers in world football, Falcao will be well aware that John Terry is suspended following his red card during last season's epic 2-2 draw at Camp Nou. The David Luiz/Gary Cahill partnership will be confident having shut out the prolific Magpies strikeforce last weekend.
Frank Lampard was rested for that league match and may well return to captain the side tonight for the first time since the final in Munich last May. Since Simeone's side tend to play on the counter attack Lampard's ability to find the breakthrough could be crucial - he is just five short of Kerry Dixon's 193 goals. Suarez's diligence in spotting and blocking Lampard's incisive passes from deep may also have an important bearing on the match.
Squad News
Three players are unavailable for selection by Di Matteo. Marko Marin remains out with a hamstring injury and Yossi Benayoun is ill. John Terry is suspended while the manager opted to leave Florent Malouda in England.
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