David Luiz Or Gary Cahill? Who should Chelsea start against Manchester City?

Chelsea take on Manchester City at Stamford Bridge this weekend and the London side will be looking to maintain a one point advantage over their opponents.

City’s firepower will be a concern for the Blues and Jose Mourinho will have to choose his back-four carefully in order to secure a result against the 2011/12 Champions.

The biggest question will be whether Gary Cahill is ready to return to the Premier League action. The English centre back has seemingly dropped down the pecking order at Stamford Bridge, having played just four games this season.

Cahill’s performance versus Schalke during the week may have influenced Mourinho’s thinking somewhat. In a centre-back partnership, alongside John Terry, he helped to repel the German side at every turn. In this fixture he made ten defensive actions, clearing the ball on eight occasions. He also recorded an average pass accuracy of 93%. This shows his composure at the back, especially considering the high stakes that come with Champions League football.

Watching from the side-lines was David Luiz. The Brazilian defender has been the favoured of the two players when it has come to Mourinho’s team selections for the past few weeks, but he had been overlooked for Tuesday’s fixture.  A sloppy performance against Cardiff on the weekend was perhaps the main reason for exclusion. His first half error allowed the Bluebirds’ Jordon Mutch to run onto Ramires’ back-pass to score past goalkeeper Petr Cech.

The two players are both battling for their claim to be John Terry’s centre back partner and it’s a tough decision to make with the Manchester City game edging ever nearer.

In terms of the defensive statistics, both players have achieved success in 100% of their attempted tackles. Cahill however, has won 79% of his overall duels, compared to the 52% of Luiz. What’s more, the former has averaged a higher number of defensive actions over the course of Chelsea’s opening fixtures.

It is when we compare the two players’ performance score that we see Gary Cahill holds an even greater monopoly. Having played an equal number of games this season, the Englishman has considerably outplayed his Brazilian counterpart. The graph below is a clear indication of this.

Although David Luiz is a quality player, he often becomes a liability due to a lack of concentration. Starting Gary Cahill would be the most sensible option, especially considering the significance of the weekend’s fixture. In essence he offers Chelsea stability at the back and he has a fantastic understanding with John Terry.

He has starred for the Three Lions during the past few weeks and his performance in the Champions League will have filled Mourinho with optimism. Facing Sergio Aguero and co would fill any side with dread, with Chelsea being no exception. The Portuguese coach will obviously opt to play his strongest defence against Pellegrini’s men and I believe Gary Cahill deserves a place over David Luiz in his chosen back-four.