People are seriously underestimating this Chelsea team, and the ridiculous squad depth they have.
On current form no way Sterling. It would be like playing with 10 men. I don’t know what’s happened to him but he shouldn’t play against Chelsea this weekend.The debate about going strong or weak is a bit vague, for it is not clear what strong or weak is supposed to mean.
It's one thing to make 2-3 changes, another thing to make 5-6 changes, and yet another thing to make 7-8 changes.
Pep made 6 (!) changes vs Spurs after a very good performance vs Villa, and we battered them at Wembley. He made 8 changes vs Leeds and Chelsea, and we lost. Think 5 changes involving the likes of Laporte, Cancelo, Rodri, Jesus and Sterling won't make us significantly weaker, if at all, given that they will be fresh and desperate to show they have the quality to start in Istanbul. But another 3 changes, e.g. Steffen, Mendy and Torres, would be too much.
Pep is loyal to the legends who helped him succeed at City, so he will start Aguero in some games. However, Aguero can't press as well as the other forwards, so I'm not sure Chelsea is the right game for him, provided that we want to seal the title and see how they cope with proper pressing. So, I'd go with Jesus/Sterling ahead of Kun. He will get other chances to start.
On current form no way Sterling. It would be like playing with 10 men. I don’t know what’s happened to him but he shouldn’t play against Chelsea this weekend.
Understand that, but chances will be at premium against Chelseas defense. Rather have Sergio up front than Raz.Sterling had a very good first half vs Spurs, one of our best halves of football recently, and kept popping up in dangerous positions vs Palace. Sure, his finishing has let him down, but getting in goalscoring position is a very important quality and a good basis to build on. He isn't hiding. For me, and I'm sure for Pep as well, Stetling is much closer to the first XI than Kun. Kun can't properly press. It doesn't really matter vs Palace, but in high-intensity games it's a big weakness. That's why we are letting him go. We can beat both the Palaces and the PSGs of this world without him. Hope he goes out on a high and scores some big goals though. Would be perfect.
Sterling had a very good first half vs Spurs, one of our best halves of football recently, and kept popping up in dangerous positions vs Palace. Sure, his finishing has let him down, but getting in goalscoring positions is a very important quality and a good basis to build on. He isn't hiding. For me, and I'm sure for Pep as well, Stetling is much closer to the first XI than Kun. Kun can't properly press. It doesn't really matter vs Palace, but in high-intensity games it's a big weakness. That's why we are letting him go. We can beat both the Palaces and the PSGs of this world without him. Hope he goes out on a high and scores some big goals though. Would be perfect.
Some people, yes, mostly those who pay too much attention to the fact Chelsea are 4th in the league, without taking into account that they are in fact 2nd since Tuchel has taken over and have the best defensive record. Also, those who can't live with uncertainty and want to believe the outcome in Instanbul is entirely in our hands.
538 has Chelsea as clearly better than PSG. Yes, PSG have exceptional forwards, but Chelsea are on a different level defensively wise. 538 has us as the best team in the world, and I think they are right. We are favourites vs Chelsea, but more like 60/40 than 70/30.