Chelsea vs Manchester United tactics: Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte need to nullify the greatest threats in FA Cup Final

Standard Sport columnist Danny Murphy looks ahead to Saturday’s FA Cup Final and the approaches Antonio Conte and Jose Mourinho must adopt at Wembley Stadium.

Eden Hazard has that magic ability to change a game in a heartbeat and Jose Mourinho knows that, so how Manchester United set up to stop him will be key.

In the past United have put Ander Herrera on Hazard, and Mourinho could ask him to do the same job again. Herrera has that low centre of gravity and burst of pace that can help him stay with Hazard and he did such a good job last time.

Does Mourinho employ the same tactic or do United play their own game, where players pick up Hazard when he comes into their areas?

Hazard is the one player, if fit, who can hurt United badly so it will be interesting to see how that maps out.

If Chelsea play two in central midfield against the three of United they could have a real problem.

N’Golo Kante is a definite starter and then Antonio Conte has to decide on the likes of Tiemoue Bakayoko and Cesc Fabregas. Facing Herrera, Nemanja Matic and Paul Pogba, Chelsea need to be wary of being outnumbered in the middle of the pitch.

Conte has played three in there with Hazard behind the striker but has also played that 3-4-3 system where Chelsea have two central midfielders. If they play two against a three they might get done. United’s midfield did a good job against Tottenham in the semi-final.

Chelsea need to play quite deep against Romelu Lukaku and try to break out with Willian and Hazard’s pace.

Lukaku enjoys playing against a high line, with his power and speed. I think Chelsea will condense the space and make it hard for him. He will have to get balls into feet and it will be interesting to see how that develops.

It is important Chelsea’s back three hold a good line. You do not want one too far in front of the other and space for Lukaku to run into behind.