closed Qarabag 0-4 Chelsea

[LAM09 7,061]

PSG will definitely win their group. Can't see them not beating Celtic and they will not lose by 4 goals at Bayern.

Just realised PSG haven't conceded a goal yet, so a massive goal swing would have to happen or Celtic pulling off a shock as you mentioned.

[Azpinator 2,325]

11 hours ago, Blusan Alamb said:

And finishing 1st we will end up with Real, Juve, Bayern, Shaktar, Sevilla, Porto.

You know what? A part of me would love to see Kante schooling that Real Madrid midfield. Especially Casemiro.

[petre.ispirescu 4,928]

3-4-3 best fitted for this game IMHO. No disrespect to Qarabag, but with a massive game at Anfield coming up, Chelsea must really rest some important players here and regardless of who is playing or not, the gulf in class between these two is huge and Chelsea should win this even if some of the important players are not on the pitch.

Courtois  -  Rudiger D.Luiz Cahill  -  Zappacosta Drinkwater Bakayoko M.Alonso  -  Pedro Morata Willian

[Leif 6,006]

Do genuinely expect to steamroll them. Roma lack experience in the CL; Atletico are in crisis mode. We are Chelsea; we don't struggle in the CL. We've already had enough bad results - no way it continues vs. these farmers.

[Leif 6,006]

Real/Juve/Bayern are all more beatable this season than any of their seasons in the past 5 years. Getting them is no threat. They play straightforward football and i'd have confidence our more limited players would deal with them effectively via hoof-ball.

PSG and Barcelona would play us off the field i fear; they'd simply retain possession far longer than the above teams. I don't have faith that those same limited players can play 75 minutes of pure positioning and well-timed tackles, with accurate pings up to Hazard/Morata. It's asking too much at this point.

[Eidur the Spider 4,515]

|| #Chelsea XI v Qarabag - Courtois; Azpilicueta, David Luiz, Rudiger; Zappacosta, Fabregas, Kante, Alonso; Willian, Pedro, Hazard

[Special Juan 28,141]

Sort of what I thought that line up...lets do it.

[MrExcalibur100 7,124]

I'd have rested Fabregas and played Drinkwater instead but that line-upi is alright

[Tomo 21,751]

4 minutes ago, MrExcalibur100 said:

I'd have rested Fabregas and played Drinkwater instead but that line-upi is alright

Azpi aswell, his minutes is Lampard circa mid 00's territotry.  

[LAM09 7,061]

Never a fan of not playing with a CF. Just need to get the job done and secure qualification

[OneMoSalah 8,886]

Would have rested Azpi and Alonso tbf, they’ve played a lot of minutes, big match coming up vs Liverpool although this lot are no pushover.

[Pizy 18,941]

Wait, wtf...I had no clue this was on this early. 

Anywyas, not enamoured with our XI. We should've started with our absolute best XI and then pulled stars once the game was in hand. This XI could potentially backfire. If you have a chance to guarentee progress to the next round you should play your strongest team, imo.

[Leif 6,006]

Resting Morata was a must. His psychology has a pattern, and having scored vs. West Brom and probably at least 1 or 2 vs Qarabag, I've no doubt subconsciously he'd feel 'dried up' for goals next game, vs Liverpool. This is about keeping his mind fresh as much as his body. Really glad to see him omitted. 

Really confused to see Hazard start. I understand he's what gives our team rhythm and direction, but come on. A top club should be able to more-than-cope with Hazard getting a rest. 

No point in playing Fabregas either. We don't need a pass-master for this game, and tiring him out does nothing for us. He doesn't need match fitness. 

All in all, stupidly overpowered lineup which'll deplete our players. Not necessary one bit.

[Tomo 21,751]

25 minutes ago, LAM09 said:

Never a fan of not playing with a CF. Just need to get the job done and secure qualification

I usually agree, but this front 3 work pretty well together plus Morata is still a bit rusty in terms of starting 3 games a week.

[Tomo 21,751]

8 minutes ago, Pizy said:

Wait, wtf...I had no clue this was on this early. 

Anywyas, not enamoured with our XI. We should've started with our absolute best XI and then pulled stars once the game was in hand. This XI could potentially backfire. If you have a chance to guarentee progress to the next round you should play your strongest team, imo.

Im not enamoured for the complete opposite reason, some players should have been left at home, we don't have a full week rest until January at the earliest, when you have a such a brutal schedule calculated risks are a must.

[Pizy 18,941]

Just now, Tomo said:

Im not enamoured for the complete opposite reason, some players should have been left at home, we don't have a full week rest until January at the earliest, when you have a such a brutal schedule calculated risks are a must.

Not to jinx it, but I hope we don't look back at this game tomorrow and after the group stage in disgust that we didn't play our strongest team. Qarabag apparently aren't the pub team we made them look in the first tie. 

[LAM09 7,061]

I usually agree, but this front 3 work pretty well together plus Morata is still a bit rusty in terms of starting 3 games a week.

Just hope they get the job done. This isn't the same side we dismantled at the Bridge.

[Leif 6,006]

I felt a pang of shock to see Hazard misplace a pass there. Which says everything about his playmaking ability.

[Leif 6,006]

& in case

http://www.navixsport.com/sport.php?id=3227&page=nsslksksslkaxslksyy

[Leif 6,006]

Remember Fabregas playing as a number 9 essentially for Barcelona? Would be fun trying that here, even with his legs gone. Especially if we had Lampard type players in midfield for him to lay the ball off for. Hazard in this instance on the wing would be fine with me considering he'd be getting inch-perfect through-balls from him 20 times in the game. Maybe i'll save it for Football Manager.