As a genuine, die-hard Chelsea FC fan, I never anticipate that Chelsea are likely to walk over any team, not even a side at the bottom of the Championship. I expect every game to be difficult and so I never watch any Chelsea game with a relaxed demeanour. And Tuesday will be no different as few games come bigger than a trip to the Parc De Princes, home of the current biggest club is France, PSG.
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They may currently be in third place in the French Ligue 1, but they are 2 points behind the current league leaders Olympique Lyon. So it would be silly for anybody to consider writing them off at the moment. To put it into perspective, this side beat Barcelona by 3 goals to 2 in the group stage at Parc De Princes and won 4 games, drawing and losing 1 each at the same time.
They have been faced with some on-pitch problems, most important of which is the obvious animosity between Zlatan Ibrahimvic and Edison Cavani. PSG boss, Laurent Blanc, has tried to cool the speculations about a rift, but has also admitted that they need to work more in tandem for the good of the team,
‘Both need to improve, Ibra and Cavani, because they can play together. They have to look for each other more on the pitch,’ said Blanc, ahead of his side’s clash at home to Rennes in January.
‘I knew that the little discussion against Saint-Etienne between Ibra and Cavani would lead to questions.
‘Everything is over, they are the best friends in the world, they will go together on holidays… It’s crazy what people make of some footage.’
He also insists that the two must improve their partnership in attack for his side
‘We can understand the way it works for them using the statistics. If you look at the last year by example, with Cavani playing on the right or left. They scored a lot of goals, as simple as that.
‘No-one got any prejudice on the pitch because the other was there at the same time. I think that the way they play can be complementary.’
Unfortunately, their preparations for this game didn’t go as planned they managed to throw away a 2-goal lead at home to Malherbe Caen in their Ligue 1 game on Saturday, with the game ending in a 2-2 draw. Although Zlatan was on the score sheet, they suffered several casualties with Lucas Moura, Yohan Cabaye, Serge Aurier and Marquinhos all forced to leave the pitch due to injuries and are likely to miss the game against Chelsea.
PSG, though, will definitely have a lot to play for as they seek to avenge their exit from last year’s UCL at the hands of Chelsea FC after winning the first leg at home 3-1 and losing the return leg at the Bridge by 2 goals to nil. One of the culprits from the 1st leg at Parc De Princes, David “the Gezeer” Luiz (who scored an own goal and had a terrible game generally), currently plies his trade at PSG after switching for a reported 50 million pounds fee from Chelsea. There is still a generally good feeling about him at Chelsea, which is mutually felt. But once hostilities commence, all that will likely be thrown to the wind.
Unlike some of the other big sides in the UCL, they are quite adept at playing beautiful, sleek football, but can also be rugged at the same time. They can utilize the pace and trickery of Ezequiel Lavezzi on the break, the solid midfield presence of Blaise Matuidi and Marco Verratti and the strength and finishing abilities of Zlatan Ibrahimovic (whose ability to shoot from long range could also be a massive threat) and Edison Cavani.
They are blessed with 2 of the best ball-playing defenders in Europe, David Luiz and Thiago Silva, who chip in with the occasional goal and can cause problems for any team playing from the back. They are also a major threat from set-pieces which is one area Chelsea have to be wary of. They also have Maxwell who will likely take advantage of Ivanovic’s tendency to leave his position open to go forward.
Chelsea, on the other hand, are currently on a high after the moral-boosting win against Everton. They are 7 points clear at the top and have had a rare 6 days to prepare adequately for this game, due to the fact that they didn’t have to play in the F.A. Cup at the weekend (Laurent Blanc jokingly claimed that Mourinho intentionally lost the game against Bradford to be able to prepare adequately for the PSG game).
They have Diego “the Guvnor” Costa back fully fit and raring to go after he had to face an extended period away from the first team for his stamp on Emre Can. Diego Costa is yet to score in the UCL this season in his 4 appearances, but will most likely relish the chance to come up against David Luiz, who is well-known for his frequent lack of concentration, poor positioning and adventurous playing style.
Nemanja Matic will also be ecstatic about the opportunity to finally play for Chelsea in the knock-out round of the UCL after missing out last season due to being cup-tied. He was exceptional against Everton and will be expected to put up another top class performance. Best of all, Eden Hazard will be really motivated and psyched up for this game after recently signing a new 5-year contract worth a reported 200,000 pounds per week with the club. Unfortunately, recent reports indicate that Francesc Fabregas may not be fit enough to make the team due to illness, which might be a problem as his creativity has been central to Chelsea’s performances this season.
Mourinho does have to make 2 key decisions… Cech or Courtois and Cahill or Zouma. Cech was outstanding against Everton and has kept clean sheets in every EPL he has featured in. Courtois has also been impressive so far this season, though he was pretty poor in his last 2 EPL games against Manchester City (when his error directly lead to the equalizing goal) and Aston Villa (were he was really shaky from set-pieces, dropping balls and flapping at crosses).
Zouma has been quite outstanding in every appearance he has made this season (even the capitulation against Bradford could be put on Cahill’s door), putting up a good shift against Aguero and Lukaku in the games against Manchester City and Everton. He has also featured in 3 games in the UCL this season, but they were against Maribor (both legs) and the final group game against Sporting Lisbon (a formality).
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Mourinho would most probably be loath to play him in a really crucial away UCL game, due to his relative youth and inexperience. Instead, he is likely to choose Cahill, who unfortunately hasn’t been all that convincing all season, making some high-profile errors in key games, although he did put up a decent shift against Aston Villa in his last start.
Whoever Mourinho selects, he will expect a good performance against a side that will be marred by injuries, fatigue and confidence issues. But one thing is certain… this is going to be a real cracker and I will definitely be watching this game at the edge of my seat!