Match Focus: How Will Chelsea Fare Without Costa Against Spurs?

It was the big question ahead of Chelsea’s home match against Tottenham Hotspur, given that Diego Costa has had a bigger impact on their attack than anyone else this season.

How - for just the second big game in this campaign - will Jose Mourinho’s side cope without their top-scoring striker? What will it mean for their style of play? Is there any chance they’ll be less imposing than their last home game, the stand-out 2-0 victory over West Brom?

For his part, Mourinho was typically dismissive, as tends to be the way when he cannot put out his obvious first-choice team. Anything else, after all, would be to send the wrong message; to cede psychological ground.

“It doesn’t affect [us],” Mourinho said. “We don’t speak about Diego. We trust [Loïc] Remy and [Didier] Drogba the same way we trust Diego. This is not our way of work. So forget Diego. We trust the other two and we go with the other two.”

To “forget Diego”, however, would also require forgetting Costa’s role in this team and Mourinho’s own comments on the striker.

The Chelsea manager recently described the 26-year-old as the player his “team was waiting for” and Costa's certainly proved a perfect fit. He’s virtually the perfect Mourinho striker, offering all the work-rate of a younger Didier Drogba, but even more of the goals.

There are times when, no matter where the ball is played or at what height, Costa seems capable of just plucking it out of the sky uncontested with his chest or an extended foot. That obviously facilitates a certain style of play, and the stats make that clear.

Basically, despite what Mourinho says, Costa clearly affects Chelsea.

He allows far more long balls per game than any other striker (at 57.2) and a greater percentage of successful passes in the final third (79.1%). That, added to his brilliant finishing, has fostered the most important figure of all: a team total of 2.4 goals per game.

So, even if someone as similar to Costa in Drogba plays, the Ivorian’s age means a less forceful approach. Starting the veteran striker has meant fewer long balls (at 48.5), a surprisingly greater amount of through balls (3.5) but a smaller proportion of successful passes (72.7%).

Drogba brings his old physicality but not quite with the same effect. That does pose a question, especially given the particular make-up of the Spurs defence.

Their manager Mauricio Pochettino is known to have some reservations about the “lack of leadership” in that backline, which basically implies that they can be bullied. Cue Drogba. At the same time - their recently improved performance against Everton apart - that same defence has looked especially susceptible to simple pace. You only have to watch Newcastle United's first goal at White Hart Lane.

This is precisely what Remy brings. The former QPR striker has only play a signifcant proportion of one league or Champions League game so far, the 2-1 away to Crystal Palace, and in that fixture it was conspicuous that Chelsea were more withdrawn.

For one, they spent less time in the opposition third, down to 28% from 31%. That’s all the more pointed because Palace are a team that tend to be pinned back more than most.

Remy clearly doesn’t have the same physical presence as either Costa or Drogba, and that has meant fewer longer balls (down to 43), but a greater number of final-third passes overall. Remy’s technique is hugely polished, and it’s as if Chelsea tried to play a slightly more intricate style with him there, before looking to release his pace. That would appear to be backed by the fact Chelsea also attempted fewer shots (down to 14) with Remy in the team. The wonder is whether, for all his pace, that is quite direct enough against Tottenham.

Mourinho’s decision will be telling. Despite what the manager actually says, it will also have a clear effect on his team. The key is whether it will have any effect on their fine points return.

Who should Chelsea start up front against Tottenham? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below