closed Middlesbrough v Chelsea

[Jase 43,479]

Middlesbrough vs Chelsea
PRE-MATCH DISCUSSION AND LIVE CHAT



2016/17 Premier League Match 12
20 November, Sunday, 2016
Riverside Stadium
16:00 Kick Off (UK time)

[xPetrCechx 13,546]

Break 

[kellzfresh 7,226]

I'm not convinced, I think this will be our biggest test.

[DYC. 7,542]

20 minutes ago, kellzfresh said:

I'm not convinced, I think this will be our biggest test.

What is this? Secondary school? All these tests.

[manpe 10,855]

29 minutes ago, kellzfresh said:

I'm not convinced, I think this will be our biggest test.

We will definitely concede, Stuani will find it easy to score just like Lukaku did.

[Jase 43,479]

52 minutes ago, kellzfresh said:

I'm not convinced, I think this will be our biggest test.

Are you @Fernando in disguise?

[Jase 43,479]

1 hour ago, kellzfresh said:

I'm not convinced, I think this will be our biggest test.

In all seriousness though, no doubt Boro will be tough to beat, as proven by their recent results against Arsenal and City (they should have won at Arsenal) and the fact that they don't concede a lot. But this is game where we are expected to win - unlike the previous 4 games - and it would be so typical of us to drop points. Definitely need to come back from the international break and play the way we've been playing and it might be a blessing in disguise that we're playing this on a Sunday. Players have a tad more time to train and recover.

[kellzfresh 7,226]

1 hour ago, Jason said:

In all seriousness though, no doubt Boro will be tough to beat, as proven by their recent results against Arsenal and City (they should have won at Arsenal) and the fact that they don't concede a lot. But this is game where we are expected to win - unlike the previous 4 games - and it would be so typical of us to drop points. Definitely need to come back from the international break and play the way we've been playing and it might be a blessing in disguise that we're playing this on a Sunday. Players have a tad more time to train and recover.

Yeah, Middlesbrough don't have a lot of their players going for internationals, so the coach has two weeks with his players to find a solution to play against the 3-4-3 system. Hopefully they fail, but I feel we will win because we've been good against the smaller teams except against Swansea where we should have still won if the referee spotted a blatant foul against Cahill. 

[Laylabelle 9,293]

Used to be a dodgy game for us. Hopefully everyone comes back fine from the break and can carry on our decent form :-D can see it being tougher then thought but these are the ones that need to win. 

[Special Juan 27,089]

Going to this, will be a lot tougher than people expect. I expect Negredo to turn into a world beater and them sit ten men behind the ball from the first whistle.

[Jase 43,479]

5 hours ago, kellzfresh said:

Yeah, Middlesbrough don't have a lot of their players going for internationals, so the coach has two weeks with his players to find a solution to play against the 3-4-3 system. Hopefully they fail, but I feel we will win because we've been good against the smaller teams except against Swansea where we should have still won if the referee spotted a blatant foul against Cahill. 

Every system has its weakness and obviously, someone will pose our 3-4-3 a serious threat sooner or later. But I don't get why are people so concerned the opposition will find a solution to counter it. It's Conte's and the players' responsibility to make sure the system works as effective as possible and hide any obvious weaknesses. If we have any serious issues with it, I'm sure Conte will find solutions. After all, he was quick to change things after that debacle at Arsenal and he's experienced enough with the back 3 systems to know how and what he needs to do. And would you really be worried if we had changed to, say, 4-3-3 instead of 3-4-3 and gotten the same results and performances?

[kellzfresh 7,226]

21 minutes ago, Jason said:

Every system has its weakness and obviously, someone will pose our 3-4-3 a serious threat sooner or later. But I don't get why are people so concerned the opposition will find a solution to counter it. It's Conte's and the players' responsibility to make sure the system works as effective as possible and hide any obvious weaknesses. If we have any serious issues with it, I'm sure Conte will find solutions. After all, he was quick to change things after that debacle at Arsenal and he's experienced enough with the back 3 systems to know how and what he needs to do. And would you really be worried if we had changed to, say, 4-3-3 instead of 3-4-3 and gotten the same results and performances?

We've seen top team managers fail at 3 centerbacks system in the league (lv,, Rodgers etc) so you're right that I wouldn't have been concerned at all if we weren't using 3 at the back. But I shouldn't be because if there's anyone that knows this system and it's weaknesses and strengths, it's Conte. 

[Jase 43,479]

1 minute ago, kellzfresh said:

We've seen top team managers fail at 3 centerbacks system in the league (lv,, Rodgers etc) so you're right that I wouldn't have been concerned at all if we weren't using 3 at the back. But I shouldn't be because if there's anyone that knows this system and it's weaknesses and strengths, it's Conte. 

I wouldn't say Rodgers failed with the back 3 system. His main issue was he couldn't get Liverpool to be organized and solid defensively while still having that offensive threat. Had he managed that, Liverpool would have likely won the title back in 2013/14.

[Darogba 112]

Southampton and Everton were supposed to be tests and we swatted them aside. No jinx but this should be easy for us.

[jernej93 565]

Every game is a test for you guys .. are you just waiting for Chelsea to drop some points? We are probably the hotest team in the league, we beat United, Southampton and Everton in last three games with ease and now we are suddenly afraid of Boro? It's not gonna be a walk in the park but we should win this one for sure!

Same lineup please Pedro is in great form, don't try to force Willian Zouma should get some minutes off the bench

CMON CHELSEA

[Muzchap 8,962]

1 hour ago, jernej93 said:

Every game is a test for you guys .. are you just waiting for Chelsea to drop some points? We are probably the hotest team in the league, we beat United, Southampton and Everton in last three games with ease and now we are suddenly afraid of Boro? It's not gonna be a walk in the park but we should win this one for sure!

Same lineup please Pedro is in great form, don't try to force Willian Zouma should get some minutes off the bench

CMON CHELSEA

There are no easy games and complacency is a big danger... 

I suggest reading Sun Tzu - The Art of War  

Then you will never underestimate an opponent again

[Johnnyeye 7,402]

Never an easy game vs Boro, can´t take them lightly as shown by their results vs Arsenal and City, but the team knows what needs to be done, so there is no room for complancency, these are the type of games that need to be won, in the past we would drop silly points against these teams, so Conte and the players need to do their homework to avoid any setbacks, just keep playing with the same desire, intensity, quality and organization and the results will speak for themselves. We all know that we can´t be invincible forever so we need to make the most of this great momentum, and dont panic if things don´t go our way eventually, and when it happens ( i hope not )  it will depend on the manager and players to turn it around,  its always bound to happen in football, but let´s not think about that right now. Cheers mates

[LAM09 6,531]

Boro have done well in their last two fixtures against title challengers. We'll have to not take them lightly in a game where we're big favourites. 

There's a likely possibility all our rivals could drop points, so a win is a must.