Chelsea MUST solve their woeful home record against the big six
Chelsea have only won ONCE against the big six in their last 13 games at Stamford Bridge, failing to score six times and shipping 18 goals – solving the woeful home record HAS to be the Blues’ New Year’s resolution ahead of Thursday’s clash with Man City
- Chelsea hold a woeful home record against the big six ahead of playing Man City
- The Blues have won once at home versus the Premier League’s elite in 13 games
- Stamford Bridge used to be viewed as a fortress during Jose Mourinho’s reign
- But Chelsea’s standards have slipped – and the Blues now sit 10th in the division
- Potter has the perfect chance to lift fan spirit as Chelsea host City on Thursday
Stamford Bridge was once considered a fortress. And not because Chelsea were experts at picking up wins against teams languishing at the foot of the table.
In bygone seasons, the Premier League’s big six loathed the prospect of an away trip to west London, conscious they would be greeted by a well-organised unit tasked with frustrating the opposition through gritty physicality and unrivalled work ethic.
The intimate 40,000-seater stadium also played its part. Whilst not the largest arena in the top flight, Stamford Bridge served to intimidate opponents with the feeling that hordes of passionate Blues fans were breathing down their necks.
Chelsea’s home record against the Premier League’s elite has been woeful in recent seasons
The Blues have only won once at Stamford Bridge in their last 13 matches against big six rivals
But the ruthless home form Chelsea showed against top six sides under Jose Mourinho has since deserted the club altogether, and the statistics make for a grim reading.
Since the start of the 2020-21 campaign, the Blues have recorded just one win from 13 league matches at Stamford Bridge against their big six rivals, losing most recently to Arsenal ahead of the World Cup break in November.
Jose Mourinho turned Stamford Bridge into a fortress during his fruitful spells at Chelsea
Chelsea’s results versus big six rivals since the 2020-21 campaign
2020-21
Lost to Liverpool (0-2)
Drew with Tottenham (0-0)
Lost to Man City (1-3)
Drew with Man United (0-0)
Lost to Arsenal (0-1)
2021-22
Lost to Man City (0-1)
Drew with Man United (1-1)
Drew with Liverpool (2-2)
Won against Tottenham (2-0)
Lost to Arsenal (2-4)
2022-23
Drew with Tottenham (2-2)
Drew with Man United (1-1)
Lost to Arsenal (0-1)
In just over a dozen matches versus the Premier League’s elite, Chelsea have averaged less than a goal a game, failing to score on six occasions.
Frank Lampard suffered an early 2-0 defeat against Liverpool in the second match of the 2020-21 campaign, before drawing with Spurs and losing to Manchester City ahead of his eventual sacking in January.
Thomas Tuchel, despite winning Chelsea the Champions League that summer, failed to rectify the club’s big six record at Stamford Bridge, drawing to Manchester United and suffering a 1-0 defeat against Arsenal before the end of the season.
Having failed to score at home against big six sides in five out of their last six matches – following a 1-0 defeat by Manchester City at the start of the 2021-22 season – Chelsea opted for a different approach.
The German boss fostered a more attack-minded philosophy in an attempt to take the game to his opponents, scoring in all four of the Blues’ remaining matches against their rivals that campaign.
Although the change brought about a fruitful 2-0 win against Tottenham, Chelsea struggled in defence as a result and conceded eight goals in the five matches.
This season, the 10th-placed club have collected two points at home from the Premier League’s elite after drawing 2-2 with Spurs and 1-1 with Manchester United before the loss to Arsenal in November.
Amid his side’s tumultuous run of form, Graham Potter’s best chance of winning over the fans would come with a triumph against reigning champions Manchester City on Thursday, who gave up ground in their title race with Arsenal following their disappointing 1-1 draw to Everton.
Expectations at Stamford Bridge ahead of City’s trip to the capital have slumped since the Premier League restart, with Potter’s side only picking up four points against newly-promoted outfits Bournemouth and Nottingham Forest.
While Pep Guardiola will view the clash at Stamford Bridge as a must-win match considering Arsenal’s eight-point lead at the top, the importance of Thursday’s match for Chelsea cannot be overstated.
Lose to Man City, and Potter could find himself falling into the bottom half of the table with another defeat against Crystal Palace on Sunday, who would subsequently leapfrog the Blues into 10th spot.
However, carve out an unexpected win against Guardiola’s side, and Chelsea would overtake Fulham to claim seventh place, level on points with Liverpool in sixth and seven behind Manchester United in fourth.
Potter, who seemed to relish the opportunity to face the defending champions, said in Wednesday’s press conference: ‘We see Man City as an opportunity to play against one of the best teams in the world.
‘It will be a different game from the one we faced [on New Year’s Day] but it will be complicated and tough. You need those games, and you need these ones [like Nottingham Forest] as well.’
Blues manager Graham Potter insisted that ‘moments of struggle’ will help Chelsea improve
Chelsea will hope to better their home record versus the big six against Man City on Thursday
If anything, the manager appears to be using Chelsea’s hardships of late to rally the dressing room, insisting that ‘setbacks’ and ‘moments of struggle’ help teams improve.
‘As much as we want to win – and I don’t want to sound like it’s acceptable to lose, it’s not – but unfortunately part of the game is dropping points, is not succeeding, you’ve got to suffer and get better,’ he added.
‘When I think back to how I got to this point, a lot of the things are the setbacks and the moments of struggle. So it’s not thinking of it as a kickstart, we focus on the next match, try to improve and try to get better.’
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