The Chels

Hmm not sure. I don't think Cesc will be too difficult to replace in tomorrow's game but I can see us really struggling if we're without him in the upcoming games against the likes of Villa, Everton and Burnley.

If (when) Lampard comes on I hope we don't end up sitting too deep because he will inevitably score. Press him (Willian, your time has come) and he won't be able to cope with the intensity, probably getting dispossessed a few times too. That'd be great fun to watch.

City haven't been playing so well recently but you can guarantee they will bring their A game to this match. They have to.

You might find this interesting: http://www.reddit.com/r/soccer/comments/2tm5mx/my_name_is_david_amoyal_and_im_the_manager_for_di/

To be fair Torres was excellent against City at home last season (after his horrendous miss) and single handedly won us that game.

Imagine how good Barcelona's front 3 would be if Suarez manages to replicate his PL form.

Personally I'd go for two banks of four, a compact shape, zonal pressing (rather than man marking so as not to leave huge spaces) and play on the counter. Similar to our tactics away to City but less passive defending and more organised, controlled pressing so we can start counters higher up the pitch and against an out-of-position defence. My biggest wish for this game is for Matic not to follow Silva everywhere because it's a recipe for disaster.

Fiorentina Coach talks about how Cuadrado will only leave if we pay the release clause and that he doesn't want him to leave. He goes on to say: "“He has the characteristics suited to English football because he’s fantastic in positive transitions and with Mourinho it could be perfect.” http://www.football-italia.net/61890/montella-cuadrado-clause-only Huh? lol

I'd love to see that back 4 playing regularly but we all know Ivanovic will never be dropped. Didn't you hear Jose's comments yesterday? Ivanovic got singled out for praise after having yet another shocking performance from a defensive point of view. The way he exposed us by trying (and failing) to anticipate Gerrard's pass (the one to Moreno) just about sums up his football intelligence. Azpi and Luis play with great intensity and aggression unlike the lackadaisical Serb and would definitely improve our pressing game but I think this tweet confirms what everyone already suspected:

Burden of proof is surely on you.

At least there won't be so much expectation on us with Costa out. Seemed like everyone was expecting us to easily extend the lead to 8 points.

That's putting it mildly

Cahill as well. I know that benefited us (supposedly!) but the double standards are a joke.

If people want the critics - of which I admit to often being one - to talk about Jose in yesterday's match then there's quite a bit to say about the poor pressing, huge gaps and how we were lucky not to lose (another) 1-0 lead. That said you cannot fault his passion or his positive and attacking attitude towards the game, so let's just celebrate the victory instead!

He is an unreal finisher 1v1 but give him any other kind of shooting opportunity and he's pretty crap.

Arguably the worst player on the pitch and ends up getting the winner. Football eh!

He's already back, isn't he? Never going to be played ahead of Ivanovic sadly.

I'm not surprised our pressing is poor but theirs is surprisingly good - pressing with lots of numbers and intensity whereas ours is a lot more passive and easily bypassed. Crazy that they've limited us to 1 shot on target (penalty) in over 2 hours of football!

Only change I'd make is Azpi for Ivanovic but otherwise our best team. Little worried about Fabregas-Matic though.

Please don't play for a 0-0 or a sit on a 1-0 lead! They are crap ffs.

Numerous players (e.g. Salah and Willian) do well against us because we afford them them lots of space and the opportunity to play on the counter attack. We end up buying them and realise they are not so good in tight spaces and against deep-lying defences which is what we mostly face.

Hmm dunno that sentence seems very open to interpretation, as does a lot of what Jose says.

Everyone thinks this but the man whose opinion matters most.

Didn't Mourinho say he doesn't fit well in the Chelsea squad? Probably because he stays out wide a lot which would give Ivanovic little room to attack. What a shame that would be.