Lets win this one. We can do it with the the squad we have. CL is the one competition our lads can look forward to. Prem is long gone with 4th spot as well. We just need to tap to that last season vein. Come on Chelsea!!!!

Currently i'm doing some math, sequences and their limits, don't know whether it would help you.

 

Ramires is a very frustrating player to watch, tonight he has to bring his a-game, otherwise we're f**ked, because i don't want to see some heavy touches or bad passing.

A least there is one guarantee; he will give his all, that counts for something at the end of the day.

It hasn't been discussed on here i think:

After the presser my impression is that Mourinho is seriously unhappy with all of his strikers which includes Remy.

Will Mourinho go with Diego Costa, or will we see Remy, or the false 9 called Hazard?

I seriously have no a clue.

Haha I know Ramires is clumsy on the ball but you're right, he always gives his all for the club. In this kind of games I trust him, a big game. We seldom lose a big game when Ramires starts. He should just do his job, recover the ball - and pass immediately, and run to the box to score some worldy tonight - his specialty. 

On the strikers:

He's right to be unhappy with Diego, he was the last player to be dropped, even JT-Matic-Cesc-Hazard were dropped before him. But unhappy about Loic is a bit unfair for me, he hasn't been given many starts this season but still scored a few in the cup games. Also, Falcao was in front of him in the pecking order at the beginning of the season. I think it's simple, Jose doesn't value Remy as a starting striker, same with Demba Ba some years ago. We should just target another top quality striker ASAP to compete with Diego.

For tonight, I think Diego will start with Hazard, Willian and Pedro behind him. 

 

Haha I know Ramires is clumsy on the ball but you're right, he always gives his all for the club. In this kind of games I trust him, a big game. We seldom lose a big game when Ramires starts. He should just do his job, recover the ball - and pass immediately, and run to the box to score some worldy tonight - his specialty. 

On the strikers:

He's right to be unhappy with Diego, he was the last player to be dropped, even JT-Matic-Cesc-Hazard were dropped before him. But unhappy about Loic is a bit unfair for me, he hasn't been given many starts this season but still scored a few in the cup games. Also, Falcao was in front of him in the pecking order at the beginning of the season. I think it's simple, Jose doesn't value Remy as a starting striker, same with Demba Ba some years ago. We should just target another top quality striker ASAP to compete with Diego.

For tonight, I think Diego will start with Hazard, Willian and Pedro behind him. 

 

 

Let's hope together that Ramires keeps his end of the bargain up and delivers big time.

A worldie like the one against Newcastle United would be perfect to kick-start our campaign in the UCL.

I'm getting more and more optimistic, the longer i think of it, thanks.

Remy should have put it behind against Stoke City, no excuses.

But yes, should have played more, but maybe he wasn't good enough in training, that's what most of the guys from talkchelsea don't get.

Falcao was unlucky with his injuries, that goal was electrifying, imo.

Haven't seen such a good header since good ol' Drogs.

 

"Diego will start with Hazard, Willian and Pedro", that would be nothing new.

But i fully trust Mourinho on this one, they all have the abilities to knock them off our porch!

 

This is really not an easy XI to choose as we have two options here - going for the win, knowing that we are at home and in topping the group can avoid Real Madrid, Wolfsburg, Atletico, Bayern, Barca, and Zenit, or playing it safe knowing we only need a draw to qualify, knowing also that in current form we are unlikely to even get a result against most of the other runners-up: a list featuring PSG, Juventus, Benfica, and potentially Roma and Valencia. I have opted for a cautious (balanced?) middle ground, hoping for a more competent performance than what we saw against Bournemouth:

 

I'm a little reluctant to start Courtois in this one in light of Begovic's generally excellent form, coupled with Courtois' gaffe against Bournemouth, however he is our best keeper and this is no time to sap his confidence.

 

Porto tend to attack down the right (I have none-too-fond memories of us getting eviscerated by André André) so Azpilicueta must start on the left; the natural consequence of that is that the improved Ivanovic keeps his place on the right. Terry must instantly return to the side if he's ready - my instinct says to play Zouma next to him, however if the manager chooses a more deep-lying strategy, Cahill may be the better fit.

 

My instinct would be to go three in the middle for this one for added defensive cover; Ramires (assuming he's ready) should start for sure, I'd probably stick with Matic as well, despite the fact that his previous sub appearance against Porto was pretty dismal, then again Mikel didn't exactly set the world alight himself.

 

The key question is really whether or not to drop Fabregas. After improved showings against Tel-Aviv and Norwich, he was awful on the ball against Tottenham, and equally awful off it against Bournemouth. The problem with dropping Fabregas is that (as I have often lamented) he is the only player in our squad who can do what he does; without him we lose all semblance of creativity from the midfield. In addition, in a midfield three, with a defensive midfielder and a willing runner next to him, you would expect his defensive weakness to be minimised. In addition, it's worth bearing in mind that Porto absolutely need the win, so will probably attack pretty aggressively, which in theory should allow us to counter effectively; this suits Fabregas' style of passing perfectly.

 

If Fabregas of a fortnight ago turns up we would be fine and have a well-balanced midfield with a variety of talents; if Fabregas of the Tottenham game turns up there is really no point having him on the pitch whatsoever. I would be inclined to give him one more chance with the knowledge that if he fails to perform in this crucial game, he will be dumped for RLC against Leicester.

 

The worrying consequence of having a midfield three rather than our usual 4-2-3-1 is that, freed of some defensive duties, Pedro becomes a better fit than Willian in the right wing spot. Unless we are willing to drop Hazard, which I wouldn't be willing to do as he is the one player in the squad above all others we need to play back into form (and is himself a better fit than Willian in a front three), we're faced with a decision between dropping our best player of the season by a country mile, or blunting our goal threat from open play, which has already been an enormous problem in recent weeks, even with an (on paper) more attacking formation. While it seems unthinkably unfair to pick an XI which omits a player who has been performing as well as Willian, and including a player who has been as dismal as Fabregas, I would (while wincing) opt with Hazard and Pedro either side of the striker. Obviously if things begin to go pear-shaped (and I doubt anyone would be particularly surprised if they did), Willian is the first man off the bench.

 

Unfortunately the best natural fit for a centre forward in this system is Falcao, although I have no idea if he's even fit, if he's even still considered an option for the first XI, or if he is even still capable of playing at the highest level. If not he needs replacing as soon as humanly possible with someone of a similar playing style, even if (in the short-term) it does just consist of bringing back Drogba. I've been itching as much as anyone to see Rémy given a start, although I fear that he would get isolated in the system I described, which he is certainly not suited for. Therefore, unless anyone can see any wisdom in giving Bertrand Traoré a baptism of fire as centre forward, the only real option is Costa.

 

That leaves us with:

 

-------------------------Courtois

 

Ivanovic--------Zouma------Terry------Azpilicueta

 

---------------------------Matic

----------------Fabregas------Ramires

 

--------Pedro-----------------------------Hazard

 

---------------------------Costa

 

 

God have mercy on us all.

Edited December 9, 201510 yr by PloKoon13

Let's hope together that Ramires keeps his end of the bargain up and delivers big time.

A worldie like the one against Newcastle United would be perfect to kick-start our campaign in the UCL.

I'm getting more and more optimistic, the longer i think of it, thanks.

Remy should have put it behind against Stoke City, no excuses.

But yes, should have played more, but maybe he wasn't good enough in training, that's what most of the guys from talkchelsea don't get.

Falcao was unlucky with his injuries, that goal was electrifying, imo.

Haven't seen such a good header since good ol' Drogs.

 

"Diego will start with Hazard, Willian and Pedro", that would be nothing new.

But i fully trust Mourinho on this one, they all have the abilities to knock them off our porch!

 

On the Remy situation: this is what Shearer and Mariner said:

 

'It's an absolute certain penalty,' said Shearer.

'He's impeded him. There's no contact, but Remy doesn't have to jump over him. He jumps over him because otherwise he's getting brought down.

Mariner: ''Remy should've gone down for penalty''

If it indeed was a penalty is 50-50, but everyone agreed that Remy was too honest, if he went down it was a 100% penalty. 

On Falcao:I expected more from him but his header was world class, do you want him to stay or go in January?

 

 

 

On the Remy situation: this is what Shearer and Mariner said:

 

'It's an absolute certain penalty,' said Shearer.

'He's impeded him. There's no contact, but Remy doesn't have to jump over him. He jumps over him because otherwise he's getting brought down.

Mariner: ''Remy should've gone down for penalty''

If it indeed was a penalty is 50-50, but everyone agreed that Remy was too honest, if he went down it was a 100% penalty. 

On Falcao:I expected more from him but his header was world class, do you want him to stay or go in January?

 

 

 

Either way, Remy wasn't up for it in that situation, he should have done better, especially during these desperate times.

Maybe Jose thinks that Remy isn't fully reliable and after that situation i can't take that away from him.

It depends on the situation: who could be the Falcao replacement?

During the pre-season Falcao looked promising, imo, scored a very good penalty and his overall style of play wasn't that bad,

good holdup play, imo.

If Jose Mourinho wants to keep him, i don't have a problem with it, because i can see the potential too.

Let's find out how Benteke is doing in the next month, i think Klopp likes Firmino up front a bit more,

and the Belgian dude isn't so good for their free flowing style of play.

Furthermore they have Origi too.

I think Benteke could be the perfect target man for Mourinho and maybe Liverpool would want to get rid off him very soon.

Otherwise a "Mini-Aguero" like Aubameyang or Griezmann would be fun too, that's a bit spoilt as a Chelsea fan, but these dudes would do it for me. :)

Edited December 9, 201510 yr by Essien19

Andre Andre out, good news for us. 

 

During the pre-season Falcao looked promising, imo, scored a very good penalty and his overall style of play wasn't that bad,

good holdup play, imo.

If Jose Mourinho wants to keep him, i don't have a problem with it, because i can see the potential too.

 

 

Potential ? ? Just seeing him play at all is a difficult job, so just where do you see potential ?

I want us to win but it's going to be a tough mission. It all depends on Jose and his tactic.

 

COME ON CHELS!!!!

Potential ? ? Just seeing him play at all is a difficult job, so just where do you see potential ?

 

He brings different qualities to the table.

Remember the header against Crystal Palace?

In my point of view, no Diego nor Remy are capable of putting it behind the way Falcao did.

jk88 already said it: world class header, imo.

It's great to have a striker who poses an aerial threat, we just need to put more good crossings in the box.

Otherwise, for me he was a bit unlucky, yes he had bad moments, but imo he improved over the time.

For me, it's hard to watch Fabregas or Oscar play, they're earning lots of playing times but their improvements have been very slowly,

maybe some can't see any.

 

"Mourinho will drop Fabregas this match according to The Mirror"

 

Well if The Mirror says so . . . .

As for being a high scoring game?  We've scored once in our last 4 league games, who exactly will get these 5 goals I've seen predicted.

 

I'll be behind Jose and the team 100% tonight but never in my 40 yrs of supporting Chelsea have I had so little faith in my teams attitude, ability and tactical nous.

 

C'mon Chels!!  (please).

On the way to the Match. 3-0 Chelsea and a lot of screaming for people to get in the box

Any team we put out could win or lose.

 

I'm like a deer caught in the headlights waiting for this one.   I look like the 'before' picture in an illness advert. 

 

Come on boys....please.  Otherwise I'm cancelling my Sky sports for the rest of the season...even though I know it's BT showing it...I get BT for free so I'm not cancelling that.

Porto need to win this to qualify, right? They will make this a hard night for us. No predictions, but just the W will do. It's kind of win win for us though because if we lose we go into europa, but if we win we go through. Hmm...

Edited December 9, 201510 yr by enigma

Gonna need a couple of good old singel malts to calm me nerves before the match :) not gonna bother trying to predict the team because its impossible to know how José thinks these days just praying for a good solid performance and the lads finally show what there made of...KTBFFH!!!

Either way, Remy wasn't up for it in that situation, he should have done better, especially during these desperate times.

Maybe Jose thinks that Remy isn't fully reliable and after that situation i can't take that away from him.

It depends on the situation: who could be the Falcao replacement?

During the pre-season Falcao looked promising, imo, scored a very good penalty and his overall style of play wasn't that bad,

good holdup play, imo.

If Jose Mourinho wants to keep him, i don't have a problem with it, because i can see the potential too.

Let's find out how Benteke is doing in the next month, i think Klopp likes Firmino up front a bit more,

and the Belgian dude isn't so good for their free flowing style of play.

Furthermore they have Origi too.

I think Benteke could be the perfect target man for Mourinho and maybe Liverpool would want to get rid off him very soon.

Otherwise a "Mini-Aguero" like Aubameyang or Griezmann would be fun too, that's a bit spoilt as a Chelsea fan, but these dudes would do it for me. :)

 

I can't say that Remy has been given a fair chance to show what he can do, Jose seems to rather play an out of shape and out of form striker or an attacking mf instead of him.

I would rather give him 2 to 3 games and then make a decision.

If fabregas starts in this game then we really need to start questioning what is going on in JM's head

If fabregas starts in this game then we really need to start questioning what is going on in JM's head

According to marca newspapers, cesc and pedro dropped, would mean mikel and ramires in??? Thats if its true

^ You would think that would mean a midfield two of Matic and Ramires, with Willian, Oscar, and Hazard in front of them.

Fabregas deserves to be dropped.He is well below par this season.Will be a tough game tonight and all players need to be on top of their game.I can take defeat,after all it is the CL,but i want to see us give it 100%...).UP THE CHELS!

Easy win!

Even if cesc and Pedro are dropped, I doubt we see rlc, kenedy or traore.

Is it bad that I have lost all hope after Bournemouth? I was getting my hopes up a bit but looks like our slump keeps continuing. Oh well, guess I am ready for anything.

Memories of 2011 when we needed to beat Valencia at home to qualify and we played brilliantly, with one certain striker turning up for the big occasion yet again... Hopefully we see something similar tonight

^ You would think that would mean a midfield two of Matic and Ramires, with Willian, Oscar, and Hazard in front of them.

Ye, im hoping kenedy is the one coming in!!!!