CHOULO19

I didn't realize there was just the one line-up that was expected by all supporters, silly me

"Expected" by whom exactly?!

I just thought that since Jose said he was angry and would be making changes then maybe this would be the perfect game to make a "shock" and play Kevin since he knows German opposition. It was just a thought, I didn't talk about him in the article or anything. In fact, the lineups are probably the things that I gave the least importance to since no one really knows who the managers will really pick. Meaning, let the Kevin thing go, please!

And all that everybody noticed from that whole article was KDB.... :doh: :doh: Hey, that's the way I heard it! Those things can be dangerous, you know!

Easy, dump the swimming classes, duh! Meanwhile, my uni have decided that the best time for exams is Saturday afternoons ...thinking of dropping out :cfc: EDIT: How are your swimming lessons going, btw?

I read something about the manager not picking a captain for your game against Costa Rica?

If it were down to me. Kevin knows German opposition very well. Plus, I don't like Willian centrally, he's best on the wings where he can use his pace, but I think Schurrle and Eden will start there. Jose said he's going to make changes, so why not Kevin over Oscar and Mata who have both been under-performing.

Match Preview Here

Venue: Chelsea face Schalke at 19:45 GMT on Wednesday, November 6th, at Stamford Bridge. The Match: This match comes as part of the 4th round of the Champions League group stages. Chelsea come into this match on top of Group E on head-to-head encounters with Schalke with 6 points from 2 wins and that one home loss to Basel in the opening fixture. The Blues will be looking to use this match to bounce back after a disappointing and unexpected defeat to Newcastle at the weekend that ended a 6 game win-streak throughout October and left Jose Mourinho a very frustrated figure. Previous Meeting: Schalke would still be having nightmares from our last encounter 2 weeks ago. Despite having most of the possession, the Germans suffered a huge 3-0 defeat at home with Fernando Torres bagging a brace before Hazard added a late third. Jose Mourinho seemed very content to let the opposition have the ball and pass it around in the middle (Scahkle completed 611 passes as compared to 391 for Chelsea) while relying on the counter in attacks, to great effect as well. Schalke, on the other hand, attempted a kind of dynamic high pressure with players having interchangeable defensive pressuring role. The system seemed very flawed as Chelsea found many gaps and acres of space when they got past the first line of pressure. Meanwhile the Germans looked unsure what to do with possession when Chelsea defended deep and narrow. Only 5 of their 31 crosses into the box were successful. They had real trouble creating any real chances. This time around, the story is likely to be very different. Playing away from home, Schalke will tend to sit deeper and leave fewer gaps while relying on the counter; something that has cause Chelsea a lot of trouble this season (and the few past seasons, as well). We might be playing at home this time, but it will probably be a much more difficult game than the one in Germany. Key Players: Despite not shining against us in Germany, Schalke would still be looking for thir young start, Julian Draxler, for inspiration. One of the highest rated youngsters in the world, Draxler has been by far Schalke’s stand-out player this season. In the CL, he has 2 goals and an assist in the opening two matches. He will be their main threat down the wings. Howdes is Schalke’s tempo-setter with more completed passes than any other player in Chelsea or Schalke have managed in the CL this season (159 passes). Press him and Schalke will suffer in getting the ball forward quickly. Max Meyer has been turning a lot of heads in Germany and is looking like the latest Schalke academy product to go on and impress at the highest level. The 18yo became the youngest ever player in the history of the Bundes Liga to score in three consecutive matches. He is the man in form for the Germans. Team News: Schalke still haven’t recovered from their injury crisis. Huntelaar (knee), Jefferson Farfan (groin), Marco Hoger (knee) and Chinedu Obasi (tibia) will all miss the trip to London, while Greek defender Kyriakos Papadopoulos (knee) is a doubt. Jens Keller will again have his hands tied when it comes to team selection. Chelsea, on the other hands, will be missing their European goal machine, a.k.a Fernando Torres after he suffered a muscular injury in training. Ryan Bertrand is also a doubt after he picked up a knock as well. Marco Van Ginkel remains out of the picture for a few months to come. Jose Mourinho, frustrated from the Newcastle defeat, vowed to make changes, so expect to see a few players who missed out on Saturday to start today. Expected Lineups: Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Cech; Iva, Cahill, JT©, Cole; Rami, Mikel; Hazard, KDB, Schurrle; Eto’o. Schalke (4-2-3-1): Hildebrand; Uchida, Howedes ©, Matip, Aogo; Neustadter, Jones; Clemens, Meyer, Draxler; Meyer. Match Facts: - Chelsea have won five and drawn the other of their six Champions League home games against German sides (keeping five clean sheets in the process). -Schalke have won two of their nine Champions League meetings against English sides (both against Arsenal). -Chelsea haven’t kept three successive clean sheets in the Champions League since October 2010. -The reverse fixture two weeks ago was the first time Schalke had failed to score in 12 Champions League matches. -No team has hit the woodwork more than Chelsea this season (four times). -Fernando Torres (eight) has scored more European goals than Lionel Messi (seven) in 2013. Betting Odds: Chelsea 4/9 Draw 7/2 Schalke 7/1 Coverage: Belgium: Belgacom 11+ Canada: Sportsnet India: Ten HD Middle East: Al Jazeera UK: Sky Sports 2 United States: Fox Soccer For additional regions, please check here Streams are likely to be provided in the live match thread. In addition to that Talk Chelsea will provide a live match commentary on its Twitter account. Note: All stats are from StatsZone, betting odds from SkyBet. Click here to view the article

Actually, if I'm not mistaken, this is what happened in the away game 2 weeks ago.

About young, diving won't be kicked out of football unless retrospective bans start being handed out.

How much is his buy-out clause, though? I feel his "readiness" to be a starter at a top club has been exaggerated by most.

What weird timing. He could have waited till after the WC. His still their best keeper, I reckon.

He's still just a good prospect, atm, though. If we want to replace Terry now, we'll need a finished product. You can't play Varane now in big games or you'll end up with costly mistakes like the ones he did tonight.

In high school I once wore pink nail polish to school as a dare

Would be about bloody time!

Yeah, well we can pay him more. We win!

Happy birthday, mate! Have a good one!

Haven't scored in three games...off with his head!

I agree, the one for the second goal was a bad mistake, the missed tackle a minor one because I thought he could have won the ball but he misjudged it. But the point is he wasn't as bad as he is being made out to be. Certainly not as bad as the front 6 that started the game.

Surprised no one mentioned this, but he was supposed to be marking Gouffran on the first goal but let him beat him by a couple of yards. And I could see from before the FK was even taken that the wrong side of him. Needs to do better.

A pink one..

Apart from the second goal and an earlier mistake at 0-0, I thought he actually did well and was one of the few people actually trying. He was really trying hard to compensate for the lack of passing ability in our pivot and tried to move the ball himself to attack as evident by the number of long balls he played. Overall a decent game and not nearly as bad as people are making it out to be.

Essien is not even in our CL squad. It's funny how people start imagining stuff when they're desperate