Chelsea Legend 11

Its all about "what have you done for me lately?" when you are a player on the bubble.

What do you expect to shape decisions on a player? current form or the World Cup performances? He's been poor, Chelsea isn't the type of club where poor performances are tolerated. We have loads of options on the squad, the competition is fierce... Schurrle has to do better, its that simple.

I do. Brana on Sanchez. Costa v Mert or Kos Matic on Wilshere Terry on Welbeck. This is a distinct advantage we have and should use.

This is the 2014-15 season though...

I really think whichever side is the most patient will be the victor. If Arsenal try and change the way they play to a style they are uncomfortable in(sitting deeper, pressing high) I could see this getting ugly. For Chelsea to win my belief is we have to be more physical but also patient, wait for them to do what they are most accustomed to do which is commit men in the attack. The press should be triggered just inside our own half, invite them to get forward then cut them off at the source... Matic is gonna have to be MotM again.

I quite enjoyed that! Can I do another?

We didn't give him a chance because he doesn't fit into the team philosophy of playing a two-way game. He's also pretty slow like Mata...

Arteta, Ramsey, Debuchy, Giroud, Monreal, Sanogo I believe.

he had a fantastic year last year

He came on against Galatasaray and will likely start on Sunday. Diaby lacks match fitness he'll likely be made available on the bench but not from the start.

When we play 4-3-3 Ramires is the box to box, Cesc is the deep lying playmaker, Matic is the anchor. Its exactly the positions each of those players excel in. We use it on the counter and when you play on the counter you need pace from deep, no one better in those scenarios than Ramires. Because Ramires didn't get a run has little to do with the formation or him being ineffective, it had to do with City being at Etihad and being a very good team. We had the right formation we just couldn't get out... I didn't think we were extra cautious either what I saw was one of the best teams showing why they are just that. We won't have another game as tough as that one away from home so naturally if the same tactic is employed we should have more success. Having said that we were a goal post and maybe 5mins from winning it.

I can't see that. If Ramsey or Arteta were available maybe, but they're gonna need pace out on the flanks.

You really think Ozil will play on the flank? Chamberlain will almost assuredly play the wing to mask his inability to track back.

Its hard to imagine Wenger changing his style of play but if they play as cavalier as they have in recent matches it will play right into what we do better than any team in Europe at the moment. We've scored 15 goals from open play this year which represents a third of the amount we got last season (44). When I watched the Tottenham game all I kept thinking was that midfield is so damn open! if they give Matic, Cesc, Hazard, Willian and Oscar that sort of space to exploit its gonna be nasty! Nevermind that the goal pig is always hungry... Arsenal will almost have to change the way they play in order to get something out of this, the question is do they possess the players to sit a bit deeper and wait for opportunities to present themselves? I'm not entirely convinced they do with all the injuries they have so it's hard for me not to see Chelsea role them over. It just looks like the perfect shit storm, what they want to do and like to do plays perfectly into what we want to do and like to do. I just think we're better at executing our game plan than the team Arsene will be forced to field. I swear I'm looking for ways for Arsenal to pull this off and I am truly at a loss. Its not because we are so much better than they are its because they have so many injuries and don't have anything in the middle to stop us from getting into good positions. I mean Flamini is not terrible but who else is gonna press us hard and win the ball? who is gonna help their FB's deal with Hazard and Willian? If I were Wenger my team would look something like this: Szczesny Chambers Mert Koscielny Gibbs Flamini Rosicky Wilshere Chamberlain Sanchez Welbeck It just seems hard to believe they will do this but this side is much more competitive looking than the 4-1-4-1 they will likely role out.

There are few matches in the Premier League these days that stoke the coals of the many football supporters alike as Chelsea versus Arsenal. This match seems to always have a few surprises and I dont anticipate this match being any different with both teams wanting to prove a point to the opposition. Its the battle of the last two undefeated clubs in the Premier League as Chelsea host Arsenal at Stamford Bridge on tomorrow. With both teams involved in midweek European clashes, the potential is there for the team that starts the brightest to get ahead in the early portions of the game. Chelsea travelled to Lisbon on Tuesday and put in a solid yet nervy performance that saw them escape the capital with a 1-0 victory. Meanwhile, Arsenal played host to Galatasaray on Wednesday in a game where they made short work of the Turkish champions winning 4-1. So Chelsea travelled whereas Arsenal didnt, Chelsea however, will have the extra day to rest having played on Tuesday. OPPOSITION SCOUTING Arsenal havent gotten off to the best of starts this year yet they still remain undefeated having played Everton, Man City, Tottenham and Leicester City to score draws and beating Crystal Palace and Aston Villa 2-1 and 3-0 respectively. They are a possession-based team who like to push many bodies forward to create overloads in the wide areas. At their best, Arsenal will move the ball quickly and accurately with one-two touch precision while slipping well weighted through balls to on rushing attacking mids or strikers. They will look to get in behind teams with the pace they possess, Welbeck will drift, Chamberlain is direct and Sanchez is crafty. This season has proven them to be a resilient group having rescued 5pts from losing positions already. If they have weaknesses it will appear in depth, where they seem to always have 1st team regulars out with injuries, and also in overall team defense. They struggle mightily defending set pieces, keeping clean sheets and are susceptible to counters. While they can look brilliant going forward, the midfield lacks a true anchor to build attacks from. Rarely do we see the likes of Arteta, Wilshere or to a lesser extent Ramsey, win a ball or break up the opposition counters with a saving tackle. It is for this reason why many believe Arsenal, though still very dangerous, arent well equipped to win the league. Well, that and the fact they have so many walking wounded. On count now Arsenal will be without Ramsey, Walcott, Arteta, Debuchy, Giroud and possibly Diaby(a forgotten man for sure) with Wilshere less than 100% it becomes very hard to compete on all fronts with less than a full squad. What they do have is minimal drop off from the preferred XI and the squad players. The likes of Cazorla, Chamberlain, Podolski, Flamini and Welbeck have provided decent cover for the injured players. TEAM NEWS Chelsea Do have ongoing fitness issues with the goal pig, Diego Costa. He has ruled himself fit to play on Sunday but its hard not to consider him a day-to-day worry. Ramires will be out nursing a groin and his presence in the midfield will be missed. Didier Drogba, to the delight of Arsenal fans, will also be out with an ankle issue. The only question mark in the XI is who starts as the right-sided attacker? Schurrle has been struggling mightily the past few games but he did score against Arsenal in the 6-0 drubbing. Willian seems to be the best option on current form he works hard and is producing with more efficiency than Schurrle. Predicted Lineup 4-2-3-1 GK Courtois, RB Ivanovic, CB Cahill, CB Terry©, LB Azpilicueta, CM Fabregas, CM Matic, AM Hazard, AM Oscar, AM Willian, CF Costa. Arsenal As I mentioned in the opposition scouting Arsenal are banged up right now but that shouldnt prevent them from fielding a team capable of getting a result. Out for sure will be Giroud, Debuchy, Ramsey, Walcott, Arteta and Monreal. It is likely Wilshere will play with an outside chance of maybe Diaby getting back into the squad due to lack of numbers. The XI pretty much picks itself because of injuries, Wenger doesnt really deviate from the style he likes to play either so I would expect a similar lineup to the one that played Wednesday with Wilshere coming back into the side. Predicted Lineup 4-1-4-1 GK Szczesny, RB Chambers, CB Mertesacker©, CB Koscielny, LB Gibbs, DM Flamini, AM Chamberlain, AM Ozil, AM Sanchez, AM Wilshere, CF Welbeck FOR CHELSEA TO BE SUCCESSFUL Chelsea will have to boss the midfield in order to be victorious. The likes of Matic, Oscar and Fabregas will have to play a huge part in setting the tempo, initiating the counter when its on, playing with strength, winning second balls(Arsenal are decent winning aerial duels) and of course providing that telling ball to our advanced attackers. This wouldve been the perfect game for Ramires to feature in along side Matic If Chelsea win the battle in the midfield this game could get ugly, however, if they fail to do any of these things effectively it could be another nail biter. FOR ARSENAL TO BE SUCCESSFUL Arsenal will need to try and take advantage of the pace they have in attacking areas and look to get in behind Cahill and Terry with diagonal runs. Chamberlain is usually a north-south guy and could be used as a decoy to get Welbeck isolated against one of our defenders. If that happens with any sort of regularity it will leave Sanchez open to use his attacking guile to slice open a few chances. What they cant do is lose the ball in the middle 3rd of the pitch. That will lead to a lightning quick counter with one of Europes most feared strikers testing that backline. Match Day Referee Martin Atkinson Chelseas record with Atkinson: 27 games 22 wins 4 draws 1 loss Arsenals last two games with Atkinson: 0-3 to Everton, 3-6 to Man City STATS -Diego Costa: 8 goals, 16 shots on target, 25 shots in total -Arsenals record after European midweeks (2012 till now) 13 wins - 6 draws 2 losses -Chelsea have played Arsenal 80 times at Stamford Bridge winning 28, drawing 26, losing 26 -Jose Mourinho has never lost to Arsenal 7 wins, 5 draws ODDS You'd be hard pressed to find many football betting tips pointing the way of an Arsenal win at Stamford Bridge, with the last Gunners triumph coming in 2011 - whilst Arsene Wenger has yet to taste victory in matches against Blues boss José Mourinho. SkyBet are offering Arsenal at 18/5, whilst Chelsea are well-priced at 4/6. The draw is a worthwhile punt at 13/5. Click here to view the article

We got a real hot shot here! I think he is commenting on them focussing more on the league instead of competing on both fronts like we may be doing. Take a chill pill, talk about going off the rails over next to nothing.

Because on current form, Eden, is a spectator/

Patricio had a blinder but no excuses, the team really didn't make any of our best chances count... Pretty poor performance offensively. I think Schurrle needs to be our super sub, he doesn't play a team game at all. Hazard was fouled a lot but never looked to take the game to them. Surprised Costa missed so many chances, he usually only need one. Fabregas and Matic were our best players by a mile.

Not a very good performance.

Schurrle has been so poor the past couple weeks. Scored at City but his overall play has been well below par... Doesn't play team football, too individualistic. I wouldn't mind it if he actually took his chances regular... He seems to make about one in five chances.

Schurrle is much better off the bench... Willian works for the team more

http://soccertoall.net/index.php?channel=6

We did score against Schalke... Whether or not I agree with you about Drogba's physical attributes is irrelevant, he's back at the club because we lost A LOT of leadership and he's a huge personality in the dressing room, the part of the game you DON'T see... We're unbeaten all year and you folk still have shit to gripe about... We had the best summer in the history of the club and you still have something to gripe about. Just still back, relax and enjoy the football all this incessant whining is killing my buzz. Carefree.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/chelsea/11130420/Didier-Drogba-has-job-for-life-at-Chelsea-when-he-finishes-playing-days-claims-Jose-Mourinho.html Read that. Educate yourself. You also forgot to mention El Nino's missed sitter at the weekend... Oh ya he still does that every other match too!

what a pointless comment from a kid. We lost veteran leadership, Drogba makes perfect sense because he is a big personality in the dressing room. He is CHELSEA! He knows what it means to win at this club! That's why he's back... Meanwhile Torres is still running around like a headless chicken in Milan. GTFO, Drogba's a legend! his presence alone is more than enough.