FA Cup 2019/20: Arsenal vs Chelsea – tactical preview

The 2019/20 FA Cup has reached its climax and with holders Manchester City out of the competition, a new winner will be crowned. Arsenal will take on Chelsea in the final and the fact that it is a London derby means that adding to the usual pressure, bragging rights are at stake. Mikel Arteta would be hoping his Arsenal side can claim the trophy for a record 14^th time and end the season on a high after a largely disappointing campaign. Frank Lampard, however, would want to make his successful season even more so and with Chelsea trailing 3-0 to Bayern Munich in the Champions League, this looks like his last chance of winning silverware this season. In this tactical analysis, we will preview the tactics of both Arsenal and Chelsea and look at how the sides may fare in the final.

Predicted lineups

In the first part of our tactical analysis, we will look at the predicted lineups of both sides. We expect both Arsenal and Chelsea to play a 3-4-3 formation as this has usually been their preferred structure when playing against the top teams. Both sides have had issues in defence and when it comes to a final, we expect both Arteta and Lampard to go with this structure that gives them better protection at the back.

Bernd Leno’s injury was apparently not as bad as it seemed initially but the German would not be fit to start the final, meaning that Emiliano Martínez will play in goal. The Argentine has been excellent between the sticks and has shown that he can challenge Leno for a spot in the starting lineup next season. We expect the back three to consist of David Luiz, Rob Holding and Kieran Tierney. Luiz’s experience means that despite his error-prone season he is expected to start while Holding, owing to his aerial ability, has often started against sides that look to play long balls and crosses.