Chelsea Pre match thread

[Walking on the blue moon]

No rest,chavs are still a hard team to play against,we need our best 11

Yeah, especially after considering our performance against West Brom

 

[birchwoodgingerste]

Sterling yaya Kdb aguero
Heard were resting merlin

 

[kaz7]

Sterling yaya Kdb aguero
Heard were resting merlin

Sterling out as is vinny

 

[birchwoodgingerste]

Sterling out as is vinny

Nasri for sterling then more control of the ball!:))

 

[Gundogan's Moustache]

Id almost forgotten we're playing tomorrow In all the excitement of the draw.

2-1 City

 

[Rammyblues]

We will win this and all remaining games including those in CL :-)

 

[mosssideblue]

Why do folks keep moving DeBryune out of the middle? Leave him where he makes the most difference. Adjust everyone else as needed.

Beat me to it. Kev is fat more effective in the middle

 

[christopp]

Have we sold out for this game?

 

[Bluster]

Because that's what happens when you incorporate Yaya into this team. It's the same problem Pellegrini has had all season.

Yaya isn't good enough in a 2 man midfield against opposition who will have a fair share of the ball, hence he's played in a 3 - however this means he pushes Silva/KdB out wide as Yaya will be central.

Option 1: 2 man midfield with Yaya = horribly exposed CB's, but places our attacking players in their favoured positions.
Option 2: Yaya in a 3, displacing our best AM's out wide. More solid defensively but weaker & loss of width up top.
Option 3: don't play Yaya & lose some control in midfield but have everyone in favoured positions.

For me in these sorts of games (disregarding fitness issues) I'd still opt for option 3 as we did against PSG - Yaya from the bench if needed. And in games where we're stronger favourites I'd opt for option 1 - hoping the benefits of extra creativity outweigh the defensive issues.

Yes, i agree completely. It's quite a fine balance, as there have been times when we're overrun in the middle with toure and other times when we look so wooden in the middle of the pitch without him (last week).

 

[Zin 'messiah' Zimmer]

Beat me to it. Kev is fat more effective in the middle

Aren't all fat people, fat in the middle?