Chelsea FC face Crystal Palace on Saturday, and here is how they may line up
Chelsea FC’s 2015/16 Premier League campaign truly got off the ground last Sunday, when they scraped past West Brom 3-2 in what was a highly entertaining affair. This weekend they play host to Crystal Palace as they look to register back-to-back wins.
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The Blues endured a torrid start to the season. They drew their opening fixture with Swansea City 2-2, then they were humiliated by Manchester City 3-0 the following week. The fact that neither of these results could be described as unlucky was the most worrying part of it.
Evidently concerned by the look of the club, Roman Abramovich subsequently made extra transfer funds available and Marina Granovskaia worked her magic in the transfer window, pulling off the miraculous heist of Pedro. He was also joined by Abdul Baba Rahman and Kenedy.
Chelsea then put in a much improved performance against West Brom. Pedro had brought the cutting-edge creativity that the side was desperately missing and the Blues finally looked like a sustained threat going forward. If it wasn’t for John Terry’s red card, Chelsea could have easily gone on to score another couple.
This Saturday they return to Stamford Bridge to host Alan Pardew’s Crystal Palace. The Eagles have been impressive thus far, winning two out of their three fixtures, so the Blues will have to be at the top of their game to come away with the victory.
With that in mind, here is how they may line up.
Next: Goalkeeper
Thibaut Courtois
It’s game number four and I am already struggling to write something fresh about this position.
Courtois returned to the line-up on Sunday afternoon, having been suspended for the previous Manchester City clash as a result of his red card in the season opener. Asmir Begovic put in a heroic performance that day to prevent the scoreline from becoming any uglier than it was, and there was some talk about him being retained between the sticks for the WBA meeting.
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However, Courtois is the number one/thirteen and thus he was reinstated at The Hawthorns. He overall put in a decent show, the highlight of which came fairly early on. The Blues had conceded a penalty with the score at 0-0, and Courtois stepped up to the plate to deliver a vital save. He managed to get a trailing leg on James Morrison’s strike, preventing what could have really developed into a crisis given the fragile state of the team.
Having said that, he must take some of the blame for John Terry’s dismissal, as his decision not to come and meet what was an easily reachable ball left the captain in a dangerous spot.
Nonetheless, he’ll be in the goal for Saturday’s Crystal Palace fixture.
Next: Full-Backs
Abdul Baba Rahman and Cesar Azpilicueta
Abdul Baba Rahman’s arrival at Stamford Bridge was announced in the aftermath of the Manchester City loss. I had thought that he would be given the nod against West Brom, but that was not to be as Branislav Ivanovic maintained his starting spot.
Perhaps a week was not long enough for the Ghanaian to properly integrate in with his teammates, or maybe Mourinho just forgot about him, but Baba Rahman did not even make the bench for Sunday’s game.
However, Ivanovic put in another display that showed that he is in decline and the new arrival should get the start against Palace. This would push Azpilicueta to his natural right-back slot and Iva to the bench.
The Spaniard, meanwhile, hit his straps against WBA and brought the attacking threat that he had failed to so far show. This was rewarded with a great goal that saw him steaming onto a ball at the edge of the box. More of the same, please.
Next: Centre-Backs
Gary Cahill and Kurt Zouma
Kurt Zouma started last weekend’s fixture alongside John Terry. I thought that he would also be chosen for the City clash the week previous, but Mourinho opted to go with Terry and Gary Cahill instead. However, he changed things at half-time in that game, substituting the captain for the first time in his career and bringing on the much pacier Zouma in his place.
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The Frenchman put in a decent performance against West Brom, although his youth showed in places. Nonetheless, Mourinho will be forced to pick him as a result of Terry’s dismissal on Sunday. Equally, Gary Cahill will also get the start such is the lack of depth in Chelsea’s backline.
Cahill was subbed on after Terry’s red, sporting the patented Mask of Zorro after taking a beating in the face against City. The partnership between Cahill and Zouma will probably be the most used one at centre-back should the arrival of John Stones not materialise.
I’m not too concerned about that.
Next: Centre-Midfield
Nemanja Matic and Cesc Fabregas
Needless to say, this will likely be the combination used once again on Saturday. Matic has been as solid as ever, and is just finding his feet in terms of passing range. There will be simply no moving the big man from his holding midfield role unless something untoward happens.
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Fabregas, meanwhile, has been awful so far and was awful again last week. He seems to have carried his poor form over from the end of last season and has looked completely overrun in places. Having said that, there is again a lack of depth at the centre-midfield position. If the boss doesn’t choose Cesc, he will have to call upon either John Obi Mikel or a young Ruben Loftus-Cheek to do the job.
Not very inspiring is it.
Mikel doesn’t work because Fabregas is in the creative role, while as much as I would like to see RLC involved, he needs to be properly bled into first-team football. There may be a case for him starting on Saturday, but don’t expect him to be feature continuously.
Hopefully Paul Pogba will arrive and shake things up a bit.
Next: Wings
Pedro and Eden Hazard
This where I get excited, and where there is actually some debate. Pedro arrived only last Thursday yet was immediately thrust into the starting line-up on Sunday. This goes some way to illustrate how much was lacking in Stamford Bridge’s creativity department. He then performed admirably and opened the game’s scoring, after which he assisted one of the other Chelsea goals.
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Pedro has been exactly what the club has needed after the poor start. His arrival has bolstered the group both tangibly (on the field) and intangibly (by way of mood and atmosphere). The signing of Pedro lit up hearts of Chelsea fans everywhere and made them believe that all was possible once again. This remains to be seen, but his performance against West Brom did nothing to dent hopes.
Eden Hazard improved somewhat last weekend. He has been relatively anonymous throughout the first few games but now seems to be warming up appropriately. Despite Pedro’s move he remains Chelsea’s talisman and principle creator and will need to properly fall of a cliff for his place to be in doubt.
Next: Attacking Midfield And Striker
Oscar and Diego Costa
The attacking midfield position is an interesting one. Pedro’s arrival has meant that Willian, possibly the club’s best player thus far in this campaign, has had his place put in jeopardy.
Oscar has sat out the last couple of games due to minor niggles leaving a spot open for his Brazilian countryman. However, Oscar is now back in training and reportedly available for selection for Saturday’s match. With this, he may be given the nod over Willian.
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This is a difficult decision that could really go either way. Furthermore, with the ever-present transfer rumours surrounding Oscar and an apparent low preference for him on behalf of Mourinho, the boss could easily stick with the hard-working Willian.
Diego Costa, meanwhile, has got his goal. He scored last week after putting in some dire and dangerous performances beforehand. Dangerous doesn’t mean that he looked like scoring, dangerous means that he looked like being sent off.
Hopefully his goal against WBA will settle him and redirect him to the path of many goals. The good news is that he has failed to show any irritation with his hamstring, but we will keep our fingers crossed anyway.
How do you think the Blues will line up against Crystal Palace? Let us know in the comments below!
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