Closed West Brom v Chelsea

[CHOULO19 24,332]

The referee for this game...

We have won both of our games in the league when Michael Oliver is the referee - 3-0 home win over Bolton last season and the 1-0 home win against Stoke this season.

I read somewhere that he is Clattenburg's best friend. Can't end well if true.

[YouNameIt 1,511]

Start Sturridge and Moses.....for fuuuuuuuuuuuuck sake

[Hutcho 8,443]

I hope Lamps can recover and play this game.

Yeah, he is kind of the forgotton man though if he is fit will be key as is obviously a great man to have if we need to rest some players. And games like West brom away and fulham at home are where we should be playing him. Fingers corssed he can be fit.

[Danelka 209]

I read somewhere that he is Clattenburg's best friend. Can't end well if true.

"Grabbing a lift: Clattenburg jumped into a car with fellow ref Michael Oliver."

It's from Daily Fail.

[Land 331]

Hazard or Oscar should get rested after internationals.We NEED to not lose vs Juve.

[xPetrCechx 13,546]

Draw... Last Minute Penalty from Oliver...

[Stingray 9,441]

Hazard or Oscar should get rested after internationals.We NEED to not lose vs Juve.

I agree ... They need to stay sharp. A rest might be in order here.

[mediator 2,026]

It's time to rest some players before the juve's game and keep Mazacar on the bench if needed. We can't play the same line up all the season without preparing our squad players

---------Cech--------------

Azpi - Ivan - Cahill - Cole

------ Mikel - Romeu -----

Moses - Oscar - Marin -

-------- Sturridge ---------

[didierforever 7,349]

i dont expect a good result. the usual winter slump has started. playing poorly, players looking tired, media adding pressure. wont be suprised if we end up losing as wba have definitely got the quality to score 2(long, odemwingie).

mata,hazard should be rested. danny should start but we all know what we are gonna get, dont we.

anyways this is what i think the lone up should be

cech

azpi iva cahill bert/cole

mikel rambo

moses oscar marin

sturridge.

[mediator 2,026]

i dont expect a good result. the usual winter slump has started. playing poorly, players looking tired, media adding pressure. wont be suprised if we end up losing as wba have definitely got the quality to score 2(long, odemwingie).

mata,hazard should be rested. danny should start but we all know what we are gonna get, dont we.

anyways this is what i think the lone up should be

cech

azpi iva cahill bert/cole

mikel rambo

moses oscar marin

sturridge.

Almost the same line up i would choose

[didierforever 7,349]

Almost the same line up i would choose

so what exactly does rdm see? i know he has personal contact and training sesseions, but its just suprising how different the team management's thinking is from the fans'

[KonohasOrangeFlash 2,607]

I'm sorry but we need to rest players. Its time to use our squad rather than just the first 11.

Cech

Azpilicueta Luiz Cahill Bertrand

Lampard Mikel

Moses Hazard Marin

Sturridge

We look average up front. We really need to get a Striker or two.

[iceboy 992]

What a difficult game!! If we lose we can say: Bye bye, title.

[SeB 1,281]

The referee for this game...

We have won both of our games in the league when Michael Oliver is the referee - 3-0 home win over Bolton last season and the 1-0 home win against Stoke this season.

I think he's the best referee at the moment, from the insane amount of Premier League I saw last season, I always though he was excellent, clever decisions, explains it to the players etc...

[SeB 1,281]

WBA are a different animal when they're at home. When they play away they sit back and allow possession, but at home they try and dictate the game. Clarke has got them well organised from the midfield back to the defence so we're going to need to move the ball quickly and press them high, which we're more than capable of. Whoever is playing at CB is going to be in for a tough day though, because from the looks of it, Shane Long is a pain in the arse to play against.

They don't actually sit back, they have a very efficient zonal marking system in midfield: they play with midfielders and they naturally tend to play narrow, but that's reforced by the fact the instructions are to block the passing angles inside and leave the channels willingly free.

That's why they'll last in my opinion, that's not that tiring compared to approaches where you press, come out or take control of the play via possession

The opponent can cross and that's always cleared by the best CB pairing in the air in the PL, Olsson/McAuley. The midfielders picks the 2nd balls and launch counter attacks, even at home.

When you see them play you never see players tracking between the lines, such as this picture at Wigan last week end (that was a flat 4-4-2):

The playmaker is arguably James Morrison, the same Morrison which I created the transfer thread during the summer He can cross, shoot, assist, score...

Otherwise there's Mulumbu even if his last choices are wasteful. But at least this season he's covered by the outstanding Yacob who regains the ball and is always well positioned

I think Clarke will play a 4-3-3 with Long upfront and Odemwingie on the left (constant threat as long as you leave him some space to shoot, can score from distance, otherwise he's no other contribution like Podolski)

If you have not followed @Mosesstats yet, you have to:

@MosesStats

https://twitter.com/...096326783352834

@VictorMoses has 3 goals and 2 assists in 6 games against West Brom. Best tally against a PL club, which he never lost to: W3, D3

I genuinly hope he'll play, Billy Jones is the weak link despite his determination.

I wonder what approach we could have against them, width would mean crosses that would be easily cleared... and that will be difficult to penetrate centrally. Probably shooting from distance or very quick & short link up play in the box.

Or maybe use Torres as a false 9 to let other insert by overcrowding some zones of the pitch to skirt the zonal marking.

Torres as the false 9 has a point in that sort of games, not meaning he hasn't to score but that's the kind of game in which a Falcao won't win you a cross between the opponent's CBs, you won't especially get a lot of space with striker runs through space etc...

City scored thanks to an incredibly powerful player in the air (and a clear Richards foul on Foster) and after a fast break as a matter of fact

[Slam Dunk 1,442]

To normal people, sitting back and allowing possession means allowing the teams to attack the flanks and put it into the box, clearing it and countering. Obviously not to superhuman tacticians like SeB I would've expanded on my points because I believe we're going to need genuine width to beat this WBA team. They're usually good at winning the ball in midfield, but i'm not convinced by their ability to keep the ball for extended periods, maybe it was just because Wigan were overcrowding the midfield.

[Muzchap 8,966]

James Morrison is no threat - he will be easily marked out of the game - he's not Messi FFS... Who we also kept quiet (to a degree)

Some severe negativity here, lets get positive and play our hungry bench players, who on their day still have more than enough in the locker to beat WBA.

Shane Long is fast, but an awful finisher - nearly as shite as Gomez in the CL Final.

We got this! RDM will mix it up and we will produce a great performance - I'm going 3-1 to us!!!

[Land 331]

Mata wont play for Spain while Oscar and Hazard will play through most of their matches this Wednesday, Mata should definetly not be the one getting rested.