I am always nervous playing against Mourinho because he seems to always get lucky. You can predict what is going to happen when you're watching the game. We will miss lots of chances and then they will score on the break against the run of play. I am just praying we can score an early goal against them because it changes the whole dynamic of the game and messes up Jose's whole plan.I was thinking of matching their formation but I think that could just lead to a stalemate. We're the home side so I'd prefer we try and win the game by playing a more attacking lineup. As long as we fight to win the ball back quickly and don't over commit going forward we can deal with Fabregas, Hazard, Willian and Costa and we've then got Yaya and Silva in central areas with plenty of attacking options for Chelsea to try to deal with.
A lot of Chelsea fans seem to think they will play Matic and Zouma in front of the back 4 so I would go like for like and put Nando and Dinho in DM for extra protection. Last season Kompany and Mangala dominated Costa so I would keep the same CB partnership. Sagna is probably the safer option at RB as Zaba usually has a nightmare against Hazard. Sterling on the left will cause Ivanovic all kinds of problems. Going forward, Touré, Sterling, Silva, Aguero should be too much for them to cope with imo.
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...............................Hart................................
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Sagna..........Kompany..........Mangala..........Kolarov
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.................Fernando.......Fernandinho................
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..........................Yaya Touré............................
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...................Silva...............Sterling...................
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............................Aguero...............................
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Same for me, but start Bony. Sterlings pace pushes them deep. Bony is very dangers that close to the box. Especially the way we pass it round. He's strong enough to bully Terry.
Thanks for your thread for inspiring me to do the write up. Yes I can update the content in the original post with player injuries, successful appeals etc
There were times on Monday where our CM was pretty much empty and ripe for a counter. WBA lacked the quality to make us pay.
We played well and CFC look average but they will still rip through us on the counter if we are not careful. A good old bus parking is ideal for them given their lack of form.
Agree with this.
I also thought we gave too many cheap fouls away in and around the box which led to some decent set piece chances for WBA.
I doubt that.There is a possibility that this could be Maureens last game in charge of Chelsea ;)