MŠK Žilina vs Chelsea

[zolayes 14,489]

Like BlueLion said, Nic was tremendous leading the line when he was needed last season. Never more so than in the 7-0 demolition of Villa and the win at OT against Man Utd, his movement and understanding with Malouda is incredibly sharp and intelligent. That being said I wouldnt mind seeing Sturridge get some game time.

I think Nic has proved to be a great signing for us .Initially I had reservations concerning his attitude .I think in his earlier "le sulk days" he was under

the influence of his older brother who acted as his agent . Certainly he seems to have settled here and is happy to act as second string to Drog.

With regard to his playing style ,I think he has adapted his game with age . Now he reminds me of Sherringham in the latter part of his career.

If this continues I can see him outlasting Drog . A very valuable member for quite a few more years.

[Peace. 4,352]

Anelka was great when he played up top by himself in March against Villa and Man United, and especially well when Drogba was away with the Cote d'Ivoire for the AfCoN in January/February. I have faith in him to be able to score if he does play up top.

And granted, Anelka has been shit for France, but so has their whole squad, so that's a null argument

Yeah, maybe you're right.

But i still think Sturridge would be a better choice than Anelka. And also Anelka would be a better choice than Dani for the right wing IMO.

[DavidEU 2,023]

OFFICIAL FULL TEAM NEWS, as announced in Carlo's press conference this evening:

Cech

Ivanovic Alex Terry Zhirkov

Essien Mikel Benayoun

Kalou Sturridge Malouda

Also, PvA, McEachran, Borini, Kakuta and Sam Walker have travelled with the squad.

Source: Blues News.

[LDN Blue 7,903]

Would rather see Ramires in for Bena but not a bad team sheet at all

[DavidEU 2,023]

Top chance for Studge this. If he has a good game tomorrow and scores, could well start the next two.

[Peace. 4,352]

Cech

Ivanovic Alex Terry Zhirkov

Essien Mikel Benayoun

Kalou Sturridge Malouda

Also, PvA, McEachran, Borini, Kakuta and Sam Walker have travelled with the squad.

Yeah, i'm happy with this ! Mainly for Dani !!

Five youth as substitute, wouah ! Good to see. I think Mceachran could get few minutes, in intented to give a rest to Mikel or Essien.

[Duppy Conqueror 1,537]

I would like to see systematic rotation with 2 young players starting in ALL but the most difficult games

i agree 100 % bud..i think even if those youngsters struggle at times,we have a good enough team to compensate for it against the non-top teams... we would probably have the same number of points in the Prem if we played all of our games from start to finish with 10 men so why not "carry" atleast one in the starting line-up..none of them have done anything major wrong in the games they`ve played in thus far during their young careers.

with that in mind the team i would personally pick is

Cech

Ivanovic Alex Terry Van Aanholt

Ramires

Essien Zhirkov

Benayoun Sturridge Malouda

bench:Anelka,Ferreira,Bruma,Mikel,Kakuta,Kalou,Turnbull

if JT doesn`t pass fit..put Ivanovic at CB and play Ferreira bringing a younster to fill his place on the bench..perhaps McEachran.

if all goes to plan with a comfortable score line and no injuries with 25-30 minutes to go..i would bring on Kakuta for Malouda,Bruma for JT or Alex .

this could very well turn out to be a more frustrating night for us than we think tho..i think we`ll win but due to conditions with travel and the Zilina players being so motivated by probably playing the biggest game of their careers so far and us not being familier with the opposition. (their players may not be familer with ours from playing against them,but i`m sure they`ve seen our players in action many many times on the telly etc...it could be the trickiest game we`ve played so far this season...or it could be the easiest..we`ll find out tomorrow..

[caesarblues 51]

Carlo: 'The team will be

Cech, Ivanovic, Alex, Terry, Zhirkov, Benayoun, Essien, Mikel, Malouda, Anelka and Sturridge.'

Chelseafc.com

[Kostas 1,468]

*Very* interesting pick by Ancelotti.

A solid defense protected by the experienced and reliable Mikel-Essien duo and some experimenting upfront.As DavidEU pointed out this is a golden chance for Sturridge to show his quality on the biggest stage,I only hope he does not wear his sitter-missing boots.If things go well we might see Bruma getting gametime,Kakuta may feature as well.

However I'm a bit bugged about Anelka's absence and Walker's inclusion over Turnbull and Hilario,it could either mean that one of them is injured or that maybe there has been a change in the pecking order.Although it's possible that Ancelotti sees Zilina as an easy opponent(and rightly so) and I'm just making too much out of it.

I was positively surprised by McEachran's inclusion,having a 17year old on the bench during an away European game is so unlike us.

[kwylino 329]

I like seeing sturridge get a game The lad is growing on me very quickly

[Duppy Conqueror 1,537]

*Very* interesting pick by Ancelotti.

A solid defense protected by the experienced and reliable Mikel-Essien duo and some experimenting upfront.As DavidEU pointed out this is a golden chance for Sturridge to show his quality on the biggest stage,I only hope he does not wear his sitter-missing boots.If things go well we might see Bruma getting gametime,Kakuta may feature as well.

However I'm a bit bugged about Anelka's absence and Walker's inclusion over Turnbull and Hilario,it could either mean that one of them is injured or that maybe there has been a change in the pecking order.Although it's possible that Ancelotti sees Zilina as an easy opponent(and rightly so) and I'm just making too much out of it.

I was positively surprised by McEachran's inclusion,having a 17year old on the bench during an away European game is so unlike us.

i havent tried the link provided yet but on that post, Anelka is included.

i`m delighted by Sam Walker getting the nod for the bench..great experience for the kid and Turnbull & Hilario are so woeful..i`ll roll the dice and say Sam Walker wouldn`t do worse given the playing time.

great to see Josh there too...well done Carlo for having the balls to do it.

[Duppy Conqueror 1,537]

after just reading that article on the official site...it`s great to hear how highly he rates Sturridge..and that Yury is very much a part of his plans for the season..would prefer to see him play in a more attacking role and to see what Ash,Yury and Malouda would do together on the left side of the field...surely on paper atleast, theres not many better left flanks than that in world football,if any atall...but obviously not for this game with Ash being rested.

[BRMC 12]

Fair play to Carlo, i like the team he has put out.

[Kostas 1,468]

i havent tried the link provided yet but on that post, Anelka is included.

Oh snap!Can't believe I missed him.

Ancelotti talks about how Sturridge improved but I think he's more or less the same player we signed,he was already very good when he came and he hasn't improved his consistency if front of the goal.

[Fulham Broadway 17,315]

Ancellotti seems an excellent man manager, more understated than Mourinho, and will try to instil confidence in the 'newbies'

out of Cech, Ivanovic, Terry, Alex, Zhirkov, Essien, Benayoun, Mikel, Sturridge, Malouda, Anelka

Can see Benayoun coming off and Ramires on probably, but we'll see.....

[Miguelito 459]

like alot of yall im very happy that studge is getting a start and i have posted a few times that i wanted him to. sometimes it just seems like he tries a little too hard so tomorrow hopefully he will be relaxed yet energetic.

i think this side will be very creative!

[BLionheart 516]

this is getting more exciting , it will be very interesting to watch how benayoun and more importantly sturridge will cope in this game .

also i hope kakuta will get more than the odd 15-17 minutes he gets .

but overall i like this team very much very tough and experienced at the back with a lot of attacking threat .

[Manuf 1,448]

The best left-back in the world is not in the squad, yet we still have best defence.

[Duppy Conqueror 1,537]

Ancellotti seems an excellent man manager, more understated than Mourinho, and will try to instil confidence in the 'newbies'

indeed he does and i think that comes from him having been a top player in his days,compared to Jose who learnt his skills through study...you`ll never learn more from second hand sources than actually being there and of course Ancelotti was coached by some great managers too.

Jose although he was a player himself..he never had first hand experience of being on the pitch in big games as a player like Ancelotti did..nowhere near...so he can relate to what goes through the minds of top players more.

Carlo is more humble i believe despite all that he has won in football over the last 30 years..i think Jose is more humble in private with his players than he is with a Mic infront of him..but not as much as Carlo.

for Jose it`s "i`ve won this and I`ve won that"..with Carlo it`s "we won this thanks to the wonderful players and my coaching staff etc.."

[zolayes 14,489]

chalk and cheese ,,,but both great managers and WINNERS