Antonio Conte may need to apply his problem solving skills to guide Chelsea past Tottenham

Greg Lea's column this week previews Chelsea's FA Cup semi-final encounter with rivals Tottenham Hotspur.

Antonio Conte's Chelsea side host their nearest Premier League title rivals Tottenham in the FA Cup semi-finals on Saturday. John Sibley / Reuters

As far as finding solutions to problems go, Antonio Conte did a pretty good job of it earlier this season.

With his Chelsea side 3-0 down to Arsenal in September, the Italian introduced Marcos Alonso in place of Cesc Fabregas in the 55th minute and shifted to a three-man backline.

Chelsea did not concede another goal that afternoon. The chief reason for that, of course, was Arsenal taking their foot off the gas having already established a healthy lead, but the Chelsea manager had clearly seen enough to convince him that a 3-4-2-1 formation was a viable long-term option.

The current league leaders had employed a 4-1-4-1 system before that defeat by Arsenal, a setback which saw them sink to eighth place in the table.

The switch to three at the back proved inspired. Chelsea went on to win their next 13 Premier League matches, scoring 32 goals and conceding just four.

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Having been eight points adrift of top spot after that loss to Arsenal, Conte’s men opened up a six-point lead in first place at the turn of the year.

The defensive unit, marshalled by David Luiz, suddenly looked a lot more solid. N’Golo Kante, liberated from a holding role, exerted his influence in a two-man midfield, while Victor Moses provided pace and directness from right wing-back.

Most significant of all, Hazard and Pedro thrived as inside-forwards, as opponents struggled to find a way to prevent them collecting the ball in pockets of space around the penalty area.

There have been signs in recent weeks, though, that other teams have begun to develop a strategy to make life difficult for Chelsea.

Wilfried Zaha and Christian Benteke caused problems on the counter-attack at Stamford Bridge earlier this month, as Crystal Palace ran out surprise 2-1 winners.

A few days later, Manchester City created the better chances against Chelsea but were punished for their profligate finishing and lost 2-1.

Then, last weekend, Manchester United completely nullified Chelsea at Old Trafford. Ander Herrera marked Hazard out of the game, and a strike partnership of Jesse Lingard and Marcus Rashford proved too mobile for a three-man defence of Luiz, Gary Cahill and Kurt Zouma.

For the first time in a decade, Chelsea did not manage a single shot on target, and they have now failed to keep a clean sheet in 10 consecutive top-flight outings.

Diego Costa, scorer of 15 goals before the end of January, has not scored since the 2-1 win at West Ham United six games ago in March.

A 10-point advantage over second-placed Tottenham Hotspur has shrunk to four.

Mauricio Pochettino’s men have the momentum, having won their past seven league games. They also the confidence of beating Chelsea, 2-0 at White Hart Lane in January, meaning they have genuine reason to be confident going into Saturday’s FA Cup semi-final between the two sides at Wembley Stadium.

It will be interesting to see whether Conte implements a change to get his team back on track against a side who have scored 22 goals in their past seven games.

A major switch in system seems unlikely in such a high-profile knockout tie at Wembley, but Conte had great success the last time he enacted a solution to a problem he had identified.

As the race for silverware intensifies in the final few weeks of the campaign, he may have to do something similar to how he reacted in September at Arsenal.

Clyne a shining light in Liverpool's frail defence>

Nathaniel Clyne was just 17 years old when he made his senior debut, although it would have been hard to tell given the maturity of his performance on that day in October 2008.

The teenage right back starred in Crystal Palace’s 3-0 victory over Barnsley in the Championship, and went on to make 29 appearances for Neil Warnock’s side in his first season as a professional.

Clyne’s consistent displays saw him rewarded with the club’s Young Player of the Year prize, which he retained 12 months later.

Even in his early years, the defender was a reliable figure who was rarely outdone by his direct opponents.

Now 26 and playing for Liverpool, who take on Palace at Anfield on Sunday, he remains much the same. Clyne is not the most confident when it comes to taking on his man high up the pitch, and he often favours the safer option of a square pass infield.

At times this can limit Liverpool’s attacking potential, but the benefits Clyne offers far outweigh the drawbacks.

Jurgen Klopp’s backline has been breached on 40 occasions this season — no other team in the top seven has conceded more goals — with Liverpool’s defensive frailties having often undone their spectacular work at the other end of the field.

That figure would arguably be even worse but for Clyne, who has missed just 90 minutes of Premier League football this season.

With James Milner having spent most of the campaign in an unfamiliar left back berth, and Dejan Lovren and Ragnar Klavan frequently failing to convince at centre-half, Clyne’s defensive assuredness has been vital to Liverpool’s top-four push.

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