I fear that Hazard will take a sustained kicking in this one...Bearing in mind what happened last time we played them.

 

Anyone tuning in expecting beautiful, free flowing football will probably be disappointed.

Mourinho wouldn't do this but if Costa is fit then maybe play Remy out wide on the right.

They'd miss the United match as well. 10 yellows before the second Sunday in April is a two-game ban.

 

Only if they were already banned earlier in the season for reaching 5 yellows.

Only if they were already banned earlier in the season for reaching 5 yellows.

 

Which I believe both were. 

Which I believe both were. 

 

Yep. Matic missed Newcastle away and Fabregas missed Hull I think at home.

Which I believe both were. 

 

They were, but in general it's not true that 10 yellows by the April cut off date means a 2 match ban. If a player got the 5th yellow after Jan 1 then it's still only a one match ban.

Ivanovic should be nowhere near the team for at lease a good 4 weeks, how ever he performs, Azpilicueta performs twice as good, in defence & attack,

with Luis playing left side, we will have two fulbacks crossing with natural footwork for Costa to get on the end of.

Zorma to play home games & against weaker sides.

Remy to play in a midfield three to give a double threat along side Costa to give the opposition defence another thing to think about.

My side therefore is to be 1st team selection from now on. :-

 

                        Courtois

 

     Azpilicueta   Zouma   Terry     Luis

                    Matic   Cesc

            Remy     Oscar    Hazard

                         Costa

I really want to see Cuadrado start. He really couldn't add any less to what Willian adds to the team and given a run of games he will add more to the team than what Willian has done in the starting eleven

Just posted about the Matic/Fabregas thing on another thread. I think it's a real issue and a conundrum for Jose.

My gut feeling is both will start against Stoke and then Mikel may well come in for Matic against QPha. Assuming Matic isn't booked next Sat of course.

The worst case scenario of them both being booked against QPha is something Jose surely won't risk ahead of he Utd and Arsenal fixtures.

The United and Arsenal games are important, but they are not more important than Stoke and QPR imo.

 

Beat those two sides and we are so much closer. So much so in fact that we will no longer need to beat United NOR Arsenal imo. 

 

Beat Stoke and QPR and then avoid defeat against United and Arsenal and we will be in touching distance.

I'd be worried if Jose treats any game as the sort where he can afford to give key players a break, A move like that could swing mentalities ahead of a game.

 

Resting Matic and/or Fabregas would give any midfield opposition more belief going into a game, and probably motivate them to prove it an unwise decision to take them lightly.

 

And as for whoever steps in, there's a difference between being given the opportunity to play ahead of a suspended player, and being thrown in because we want to keep the more valuable players available for the bigger ties.

That makes perfect sense.

I just don't think Jose will risk losing our two senior midfielders for a pair of back to back matches against top four sides. Time will tell! I'm sure both will start against Stoke and let's just take it from there.

I wouldn't mind Mikel stepping in for Matic, but Fabregas is just so vital going forward that I don't think we'll rest him. Taken off early if we're winning perhaps. The last thing we want is to be losing or drawing, bring Fabregas on only for him to pick up a booking. 

Geez, how did Cesc get so many bookings?   He is not one to be tackling much, unlike Matic or Ramires.   This is a strange one for me to fathom.

Geez, how did Cesc get so many bookings? He is not one to be tackling much, unlike Matic or Ramires. This is a strange one for me to fathom.

Because he can't really keep up with runners like Matic so needs to sometimes give away a smart foul to let us regroup. I noticed it when Matic in particular was missing.

Geez, how did Cesc get so many bookings?   He is not one to be tackling much, unlike Matic or Ramires.   This is a strange one for me to fathom.

 

Because he can't really keep up with runners like Matic so needs to sometimes give away a smart foul to let us regroup. I noticed it when Matic in particular was missing.

The "diving" for pens did not help either....lol

Willian, Luis and oscar playing Vs France right now. The world will see how poor willian is.

Oscar has just scored

Willian, Luis and oscar playing Vs France right now. The world will see how poor willian is.

 

Gave 2 assists (Willian).

Willian, Luis and oscar playing Vs France right now. The world will see how poor willian is.

Listen, I'm not Willian's biggest fan but seriously what the f**k?

Quite funny actually.

 

Willian - 7.5 - STAR MAN
Got into the game more the longer it wore on. Provided the assist for Neymar and Luiz Gustavo's goals.

 

Link

 

 

Geez, how did Cesc get so many bookings?   He is not one to be tackling much, unlike Matic or Ramires.   This is a strange one for me to fathom.

 

Actually,

 

Ramires commits the most fouls.

 

Shocker.

Willian played very well Asian Boy,are you disappointed now?

Willian, Luis and oscar playing Vs France right now. The world will see how poor willian is.

 

Well that backfired a bit..