Chelsea - FA Cup SF | Pre-Match Thread

[hihosilva]

Its very difficult to predict Peps strategy but i would expect something like
Steffen
Cancelo Dias Laporte Zinchenko
Debruyne Fernandinho Gundogan
Foden Jesus Sterling

 

[applecentral]

steffen

walker
dias
laporte
cancelo

fernandinho
bernardo
kev

sterling
foden
jesus

gotta get jesus and sterling in form if you are to win three or more trophies. chelsea will rotate their team for sure

Sterling has regressed so badly I don’t see how Pep can trust him at the moment. Last nights woeful miss in the dying minutes is a classic example. It is a shame but Pep can’t risk playing Sterling at the moment, in my humble opinion.

 

[Cornish_Blue]

The win v BD will leave the team on a high for sure, but it must have taken its toll on the guys fitness.
I wonder what line up Pep will choose this time to keep the players focussed and rested.
If we want to win this, Sterling should be no where near this team. His embarrassing effort when clean through on goal v BD just shows how far he has fallen. It’s a pity really, he used to be so goal hungry, but now he’s just a liability. I expected him to burn toward goal as he used to and shoot, but what he did was unbelievable.
Pep must have been furious. Imagine if we had needed that to go through???
I wonder if he’s being moved on, but who would have him when he couldn’t hit the ground if he fell over at the moment???

 

[LongsightM13]

Wouldn’t surprise me at all if Sterling starts this one as a show of faith from Pep. Whether that would be the right decision is debatable to say the least but I can certainly see it happening

 

[blueparrot]

Don't know why I bother trying to guess any Pep team. but think the biggest question is the 2 attacking midfielders. Think he may rest KDB, So.
Steffen,
Cancelo, Dias, Laporte, Zinchenko
Fernandinho
Gundogan Bernardo
Sterling Jesus Foden

 

[James Morgan]

Don't know why I bother trying to guess any Pep team. but think the biggest question is the 2 attacking midfielders. Think he may rest KDB, So.
Steffen,
Cancelo, Dias, Laporte, Zinchenko
Fernandinho
Gundogan Bernardo
Sterling Jesus Foden

I hope he doesn’t rest anyone. Try get the job done, and bring players off later in the game.

Id happily sit through a few more Leeds type losses in the league, as points tallies mean very little at this point and rest some players then.

 

[Didsbury Dave]

Wouldn’t surprise me at all if Sterling starts this one as a show of faith from Pep. Whether that would be the right decision is debatable to say the least but I can certainly see it happening

I think that will happen too. He needs to keep Sterling, Laporte, Jesus, Cancelo etc onside, motivated and involved. He might well pick some or all of these for this game for that exact reason. It's a very Pep thing to do. He doesn't punish players like idiot managers, he allows them to play their way into form. It's going to be a tough balancing act this weekend. If we do make changes and don't win, it would be nice if all of our fans could recognise the many factors Pep has to consider with team selections instead of pretending it's 1974 and you just "pIcK yOUr sTrOngEsT teAM".

 

[jamesha]

Don't know why I bother trying to guess any Pep team. but think the biggest question is the 2 attacking midfielders. Think he may rest KDB, So.
Steffen,
Cancelo, Dias, Laporte, Zinchenko
Fernandinho
Gundogan Bernardo
Sterling Jesus Foden

I like the look of that team - we need Foden for his reliable finishing

 

[LongsightM13]

I think that will happen too. He needs to keep Sterling, Laporte, Jesus, Cancelo etc onside, motivated and involved. He might well pick some or all of these for this game for that exact reason. It's a very Pep thing to do. He doesn't punish players like idiot managers, he allows them to play their way into form. It's going to be a tough balancing act this weekend. If we do make changes and don't win, it would be nice if all of our fans could recognise the many factors Pep has to consider with team selections instead of pretending it's 1974 and you just "pIcK yOUr sTrOngEsT teAM".

Mahrez looked like he was struggling a bit when he came off, unless he was just playing the Scouser before a DHSS interview. I think Sterling has some decent recent form v Chelsea as well tbf

 

[uwe rosler 28]

Ederson

Walker
Dias
Laporte
Cancelo

Fernandinho
Kdb
Bernard

Sterling
Jesus
Foden