English Freak

I'd prefer Ba to start...then Torres can come on around the 70th minute and provide a spark up front.

That's been one of our bigger problems this season. The lack of midfield depth has cost us quite a few games this season. Lampard is ageing, Ramires provides energy but sometimes his passing is awful, Mikel is playing a limited role, Romeu would of been useful & Oscar isn't really a CM yet. If only we had someone like Meireles or KdB as a squad player this season...

Hopefully the Reading defenders piss him off throughout the game then...

Rafa's appointment wasn't spot on. Our team isn't much better than it was under RDM The only positives from Rafa's reign have been Azpi's continued development in the starting RB position and 2 first team appearances for the young Nathan Aké

As long as Ramires isn't used in the RW role, we should do alright.

Should be a tough game against Basel. They beat United last season in UCL and now they beat Spurs in Europa this season...

Yeh, let's just sell him and sign Schurrle cause his decision making is perfect, his passing is perfect and everything he does is exceptional. Schurrle would be nothing more than an expensive squad player at Chelsea.

Have heard quite a lot about this kid. Arsenal scouted him a few months back according to various sources. Wouldn't mind seeing this kid at Chelsea, provided that he gets enough playing time.

We might of played more attractive football under Ancelotti but that was only 1 season. He failed to replicate that attractive playing style the following season and deservedly got the sack.

I think it's a bit too early for Aké to be considered for the Dutch National team. I reckon he'll be more ready for the 2016 Euros..

Depth is NOT squad size. You could have 5 mediocre players on the bench but that doesn't mean they add depth to your squad. Like at Chelsea, we have Turnbull and Hilarious as squad size but neither of them "add depth" to our GK position.

That's great for American sports. A salary cap system for EPL doesn't make any sense. I like the strength of the EPL and the amount of top-class footballers that have joined the EPL in recent seasons. As for the lower table teams not having any world-class players...well that's what makes the EPL interesting. There's always two races in the EPL. One race is for the title/top 4 and the other race is for survival. I love watching the mediocre teams (without any world-class players) fight their way out of relegation.

Hopefully we bring in another midfielder at the end of this season. I reckon Ramires, Mikel, KDB, the returning Romeu and 1 new midfielder would be perfect for next season.

True, football might be about winning cups..but the priority should be making the top 4 at this stage of the season. Europa league is a pointless competition, its just making our players more tired for PL fixtures. Our squad doesn't have enough depth to deal with so many games in such a short period of time. Arsenal are gonna make the top 4 cause their players are fresh and cause Wenger is determined to get UCL football for next season. So it's pretty much a fight between Chelsea and Spurs. Spurs have the fresher players with the likes of Parker, Assou-Ekotto having recently returned from long term injuries and then they have Holtby, Sigurdsson providing depth to their midfield. At Chelsea, we have no depth apart from Bertrand. Benayoun has been useless, Marin just doesn't seem suited to EPL football & we lost our promising DM to a long term injury.

I hope we don't give Lampard another year. He has been a great midfielder for Chelsea over the years but it's time to move on with our rebuilding process. As for Schurrle, 20 million isn't the worst transfer out there...he doesn't have that bit of flair or explosiveness but overall, he seems to be a solid team player.

Yeh, Rubin Kazan are a decent side...but they are not a top-class side. Torres' performance yesterday just proves that Europa league opposition is his level now. He's useless in the premier league but good enough to thrive against decent teams in the Europa League. Still needs to leave at the end of the season.

How does a loan make sense? I just get the feeling that we may never see KDB at Chelsea if he gets loaned out to Leverkusen. With the probable departure of Lampard, there will be a gap in the first team...and I really think KDB can fill that gap in the first team squad, he'd be the perfect rotation player.

I don't know if Chalobah is ready for the first team or not... BUT I don't want to see Chalobah sitting on the bench for the majority of next season with the odd cameo appearance. If Watford get promoted, let him stay there for the sake of his development. Clearly Zola likes him, the fans like him and he's become an important player in their team.. With more game time at Watford, he could get a good season of PL experience under his belt and come back to Chelsea as an improved player like Lukaku..

We should win this game easily (if we play properly). Sunderland are in serious trouble, their next 3 games (Chelsea, Newcastle and Everton) could decide whether they are in the PL next season.

Resting the three attacking midfielders is important...but I highly doubt Rafa would leave all of them out of the away leg. Nice team selection, I'd probably change Yossi for Oscar.

If you can't make that 10ft pass on a consistent basis, you shouldn't be playing for a top club. I'm not sure if "no one" else is capable of making 10ft passes on a consistent basis...its more like the other midfielders in the EPL try to keep the game flowing. In Mikel's case, there have been many occasions where he slows down play and kills the flow of the team..which allows the opposition more time to react and reposition themselves to deal with our attacking threat..

I think Chalobah could rotate with Mikel initially...and once he understands the Chelsea tactical system, he might be able to become our starting DM.

It would be interesting to see what Jose does with Mikel. I don't think he'll fulfil his potential and I doubt he'll be able to be the 'driver' in our midfield...he just doesn't seem assertive enough. BUT with two quality midfielders alongside him in a 4-3-3, he's a useful player to have. And anyway, how many clubs would actually sign Mikel? We're kinda stuck with him for the foreseeable future..so we might as well try to get the best out of him..

the only problem with Josh coming back to Chelsea is...will he get enough playing time to continue his development and build his confidence? Realistically, I see Chelsea signing a new midfielder in the next transfer window...which would limit Josh's first team opportunities next season and as a result, he'd probably only be used in cameo appearances or the odd appearance where one of our other midfielders needs a bit of a rest...

Only a matter of time until we see Chalobah in the Chelsea first team squad!