DaRick

Di-e-go does it, again!

Yeah this is overly conservative from Conte IMO.

Have to admit Pulis' strategy has been spot on so far. Should Cesc replace Matic again? It will leave us more open but he is much more likely to penetrate a parked bus.

Cesc may be required for more incision.

Only because he might have been injured though. Am relieved our first-choice XI appears to be match-fit.

If neither JT nor David Luiz are available, I reckon Chalobah probably has enough skill on the ball and defensive acumen to do a job there for one game. IMO it's either put him there or shift Azpi to the centre and place Zouma on the right, which given Zouma's apparent lack of match fitness is an even bigger risk. The idea of Ivanovic playing in a back 3 makes me shudder. He lacks the technical ability to play in the centre and is too slow nowadays anyway.

Many of the Championship/League teams I'd like to see in the PL at least once because I haven't really seen them there before* and reckon they would add something different (Brighton, Huddersfield Town, Sheffield Wednesday, Preston North End, Nottingham Forest, Ipswich Town etc.). A few of the teams, however else I feel about them, I feel genuinely belong in the PL (Bolton, Blackburn, Newcastle, Fulham, to a lesser extent Wigan). Some teams I don't mind but I have no strong feelings about them being in the PL either way (Reading, Birmingham City, Wolves). Some teams are old rivals but I just have no idea how to feel about them because it's been so long since they were actually relevant (Leeds, Milwall). QPR I just wish would disappear off the face of the earth. * IOW, since 2003/04.

I think at his best he was a very good CB, especially when paired with a rock-solid leader like JT, but now I think he's past his best. Mind, I don't think he's been too bad since the formation change but he is still the most error-prone and insecure of our 3 CB's and I would say he is part of the reason why our left side looks more vulnerable than our right. He lacks Azpi's positioning, anticipation and passing skills.

2014 was the more secure performance defensively, but 2016 we were lethal going forward and on the counter-attack. It was also a better overall game with excellent attacking play from both sides. Difference is that we defended somewhat better than City on this occasion but we could easily have lost. 2014 we didn't really look like losing.

Man Utd have been so disjointed this season. Pogba and Ibra should have given them an edge but both have often seemed frustrated, particularly Pogba.

LOL Liverpool. Talk about a choke for the ages. Even worse than against Crystal Palace in 2013/14. Gotta give Bournemouth credit; they play with spirit and verve despite their limited talent.

Classic Fabregas assist to spark our fightback - evokes memories of late 2014. I still think he is best off the bench to provide incision though. He overall lacks the energy and defensive acumen to play in a 2-man midfield.

I look at Swansea and fervently believe we missed a trick by not taking all 3 points off them. Tottenham completely demolished them today.

ATM they are doing surprisingly well, even though Watford have been fairly atrocious lately. 6th for now though I expect them to slide down the table after tomorrow.

A much better result for Real Madrid than Barcelona, especially at the Camp Nou. RM haven't actually been playing all that well lately, but they know how to ground out results.

Pardew always has been a mystery. His sides can look very impressive at times but then they stink up the joint for a prolonged period. I do feel that he hits upon effective formations but that he lacks the flexibility to adjust quickly enough when the opposition figures him out.

Heh, neat rhyming there. It's almost impossible these days to keep Costa out of games. You'd need to be bloody good to do so...

His pace is actually reasonable once he warms up, but his acceleration is so poor it's total murder. He's always given me the impression that he lacks defensive acumen. For starters, he hasn't been all that good in making tackles or interceptions. On the other hand, his weaknesses are minimised because he gets forward well and he does have very good vision for a left-wing back. Twice he's been able to spot runs from Pedro and Hazard from afar and notch assists, which is actually quite impressive.

We all know that Pulis will come and try to park the bus because really, it's not like he has any other options. We should win this handily especially at home but we must not be complacent. Cesc helped to spark our fightback but I do think Matic should come in and start. If need be Cesc can add some incision from the bench.

The thing is though, since 2014 he has been better than Hart overall IMO. I think he may be having problems adapting to the PL and also maybe to Pep's style. Enrique's style is a bit more direct and pragmatic than Pep's.

See that's the thing about Pep-si. While his achievements have been extraordinary, especially with Barcelona, Luis Enrique has done almost as well with a similarly strong side. The late Villanova also won the league with them. It does make me suspect that Pep-si isn't quite as great as his record might indicate. He's also surprisingly inflexible against sides which are happy to sit back and counter. We saw it as early as 2012 against RDM and it doesn't seem that he's developed much in the way of solutions since. Middlesbrough and now Chelsea are testament to that. Really, although they are somewhat suspect defensively, City still IMO clearly have the best squad on paper and they should be on top of the league. The fact that they aren't makes me think that Pep is not as flexible as he should be. It is evident that City is not really schooled in his tiki-taka style the way that Barcelona had been and he really does need to be a bit more pragmatic. I wonder whether he will, though? There is still plenty of time for his side to come back of course, but the likely prolonged absence of Aguero and Fernandinho will make things significantly more difficult. Aguero in particular is vital.

Holy sh*t. What a fightback. Never expected Cesc to help turn this game around like he did. I have to admit I expected a draw from the outset given we were playing in City's den, but wow Conte has turned this Chelsea side into something else. No matter what, we always seem to find a way to win. Also am not surprised that Guardiola fell prey to the counter-attack and not too surprised that he has again proven too inflexible to respond effectively to sides which take the initiative through counter-attacks. Have to LOL at City imploding near the end. Aguero's overall play hasn't been extraordinary, but they rely on him so much for goals. They may well struggle without him. Hope Luiz is OK because he's very important to our overall play. If not, Azpi, Chalobah or JT could fill in for a game or so.

Damn. I would have put Oscar in his place myself, but that's really the problem; this side wasn't really built for a 3-4-3 to start with so proper replacements when one of our players goes down are in short supply. Not that Oscar would have been that much better.

I've just come on here; is there a reason why Cesc of all people is playing this game? Is someone injured?

I've just read up about it. I had heard of Chapecoense and knew they were punching well above their weight in Brazil's Serie A, so I was absolutely gobsmacked when I read about it on Reddit. It does make me contemplate how I would feel if Chelsea's first team went through the same thing. That's not a pleasant thought and so I can only imagine how their fans must feel. I would like to think that as a group, they would have wanted us all to honour their memories by continuing to support the game and our sides. As a mark of remembrance and respect, I've changed my flair to their black club crest and will keep it for the next month. RIP.