47 minutes ago, wallosh said:

You know sometimes we like to invite pressure on ourselves

Not really in this new system and especially not our home games where for the most part we've dominated the opposition. 

On 7 December 2016 at 07:41, Thebridge said:

so this is 12 kick off? as it says at 11.30

Yes, it's a 12pm kick off.

Will go with the score we had, when playing these 18th Oct.1969

                          

They are obviously going to put 10 men behind the ball but the way we are attacking and at home it's only a matter of time, I'd give matic another week off, cesc is a passenger but we won't be under pressure and when he does remember he is on the pitch that 1 killer pass can unlock any defence, once we are a goal up its curtains you would assume. Eager fir the presser tomorrow to see how Diego and luiz are doing 

Going to this one. Big win and James McClean red card please.

This game makes me a bit nervous, Pullis has a reputation to spoil the day, and it's almost inevitable our players will get complacent after 2 big wins. I could see a 1:1 if we don't start well.

21 hours ago, didierforever said:

"Losing" the ball and "defensive stability" are 2 very different things. Against spurs, despite being under their Kosh, we were quite comfortable and they needed a gem of a shot to score.

Against city we were getting SLICED time and again. 

Cesc would have been the main reason we would have lost 4/5-0. Because for 60minutes he was a passenger who simply let the game pass him for the majority of the game.

WBA will be sh*tting themselves irrespective of if we play CESC attackingly or not. Because they have Hazard, Costa and pedro/willian to deal with. But they would sure be rubbing their hands with joy when they see Cesc in the midfield as they would see a MASSIVE chink in our defensive armour.

Also, how is Kante and Nate any different than Kante and Matic. If anything Kante-Nat is much more a partnership in the mould of kante-matic than kante-cesc would be. And despite playing Matic-Kante midfield pairing, we have been able to score 19 goals in 7 games without looking defensively INAPT. And thats the main difference.

Kante was worse than Fabregas imo. Consistently lost the ball and looked awkward in possession. We will have to differ. LOL, WBA would much rather Fabregas is on the bench. Especially if it is out of Kante-Chalobah or Kante and Fabregas.

There is not much difference. I am basing it on whether Matic cannot make it. If he can't, I think it is imperative and think Conte will go with the same team. He is not going to randomly start Chalobah now of all times when he has only been used as a sub for games where we want to make sure of victory and give us a bit some solidarity. And yes we were getting carved open and open but I think with the way they play, it could have been the same even if Matic was on the field. Maybe not as bad as Fabregas was exploited but even then none of him or Kante have that vision that Fabregas does that would of been able to get us back in the game.

I accept he was a liability with some of his defensive awareness but so were others. However on the plus side, he created two of the best chances in that game, one which got us back in and motivated us for victory. Chalobah starting is just not going to happen and although I like him, he should not replace with Fabregas in the team if Matic is once again injured.

If you were stating this for an upcoming game against a top team then I can understand but this type of game is where I would like to see Fabregas starting and one where he will make the difference. It is like what Redknapp said last week: he will never be able to cover the ground like Kante does but can Kante or majority of PL midfielders ever play a pass like the one he done against City and the type of passes he does season after season? No.

3 hours ago, STATS said:

Kante was worse than Fabregas imo. Consistently lost the ball and looked awkward in possession. We will have to differ. LOL, WBA would much rather Fabregas is on the bench. Especially if it is out of Kante-Chalobah or Kante and Fabregas.

There is not much difference. I am basing it on whether Matic cannot make it. If he can't, I think it is imperative and think Conte will go with the same team. He is not going to randomly start Chalobah now of all times when he has only been used as a sub for games where we want to make sure of victory and give us a bit some solidarity. And yes we were getting carved open and open but I think with the way they play, it could have been the same even if Matic was on the field. Maybe not as bad as Fabregas was exploited but even then none of him or Kante have that vision that Fabregas does that would of been able to get us back in the game.

I accept he was a liability with some of his defensive awareness but so were others. However on the plus side, he created two of the best chances in that game, one which got us back in and motivated us for victory. Chalobah starting is just not going to happen and although I like him, he should not replace with Fabregas in the team if Matic is once again injured.

If you were stating this for an upcoming game against a top team then I can understand but this type of game is where I would like to see Fabregas starting and one where he will make the difference. It is like what Redknapp said last week: he will never be able to cover the ground like Kante does but can Kante or majority of PL midfielders ever play a pass like the one he done against City and the type of passes he does season after season? No.

And yet again you are completely ignoring the point of team balance.

Can Matic play the pass that cesc did? Hell no. Yet we scored 19 in 7 games. Fortunately for us, our system no longer requires or limits just one person to provide the creativity. 

CLEAN sheets are as important as an assist, something which does not happen with Cesc in the team.

"Maybe not as bad as Fabregas was exploited but even then none of him or Kante have that vision that Fabregas does that would of been able to get us back in the game."

I am sorry, but did not we just get it done against spurs without Cesc playing ANY part. And I would rate that spurs performance much much much higher than the city performance. In the spurs game, we went a goal down, but were still quite solid. We were dominating the mid once their initial pressing went away, and then as a team played them off the park for the majority of the next game.

I want my team to play that way, rather than having passengers on the pitch who are there just to play that "one pass".

Lastly, its easy to say, it would have been the same situation even if Matic was there, which in all honesty is ridicules, considering we had conceded 1 goal in last 7 games and looked solid as a wall in most games for majority of those games including a team which played city off the park.

Just now, mbh said:

Will go with the score we had, when playing these 18th Oct.1969

                          

I too will happily take 2-0. Nice programme. Cheers for posting it..

Some pre-match reading. Great read, I must say.

http://www.umaxit.com/index.php/columns/chelsea-past-mistakes-future-lessons

 

Looking forward to the game the way the team are playing.The early kick off means the pub after instead of before,good news for the people in my row lol.I can see so much more urgency and passion this season just like Conte shows.Not a game to be taken lightly but hoping for the three points.....UP THE CHELS !

Fabregas plays one great pass in an otherwise poor performance and his minions come out in full force. 

 

As for this match I'm surprisingly confident compared to the last few weeks. Hopefully no jinx. 

Edited December 9, 20169 yr by Ivanov87

 

 

i missed the start of the presser.  Any update on Costa and Pedro niggles?

Think he'll ever get any minutes? It's like having Hilario (who I love) back at the club

I think he will play next season because of the champions league

This game makes me a bit nervous, Pullis has a reputation to spoil the day, and it's almost inevitable our players will get complacent after 2 big wins. I could see a 1:1 if we don't start well.

I know they are going to try to stop us from scoring. But if Fabregas keep his place, I can't see them stopping Costa, Hazard, Willian and Moses from scoring for a whole 90 minutes. But if Matic comes back, yes we will be solid but a draw is a real possibility.

14 hours ago, icecoolguy22 said:

This game makes me a bit nervous, Pullis has a reputation to spoil the day, and it's almost inevitable our players will get complacent after 2 big wins. I could see a 1:1 if we don't start well.

Cheer up mate, if they win 20 in a row will you predict a win against a relegation side or is that a bit cavalier? 

good news on the squad for team selection

why change a winning formula ? get Matic back in, the next 6 or so games will demand rotation anyway so Fab, Willian & co will defo get their minutes

usually would be concerned about WBA as Chels have a history of taking it for granted in advance vs 'easier' opponents then stiffing sometimes, NOT this Chelsea team I am sure

like the 2-0 prediction, if the team can beat this lot & then the next 2  - Sunderland & Palace think some daylight can be put in front of 2nd place

 

Come on Chelsea !!!

 

Just to add if we play Wednesday wouldn't it make sense to play Saturday not Sunday? We play Sunday day off Monday train Tuesday play Wednesday, I know others have the same but city don't they have an extra day I don't think we can play the same squad Europe or not 

15 hours ago, didierforever said:

And yet again you are completely ignoring the point of team balance.

Can Matic play the pass that cesc did? Hell no. Yet we scored 19 in 7 games. Fortunately for us, our system no longer requires or limits just one person to provide the creativity. 

CLEAN sheets are as important as an assist, something which does not happen with Cesc in the team.

"Maybe not as bad as Fabregas was exploited but even then none of him or Kante have that vision that Fabregas does that would of been able to get us back in the game."

I am sorry, but did not we just get it done against spurs without Cesc playing ANY part. And I would rate that spurs performance much much much higher than the city performance. In the spurs game, we went a goal down, but were still quite solid. We were dominating the mid once their initial pressing went away, and then as a team played them off the park for the majority of the next game.

I want my team to play that way, rather than having passengers on the pitch who are there just to play that "one pass".

Lastly, its easy to say, it would have been the same situation even if Matic was there, which in all honesty is ridicules, considering we had conceded 1 goal in last 7 games and looked solid as a wall in most games for majority of those games including a team which played city off the park.

That first half against Spurs, besides the Pedro goal was one of the worse performances I have seen from us.

I don't know why you are justifying the need to play Matic and Kante. I agree. That is our best partnership. I am stating that if Matic is once again out, bringing in Chalobah instead of Fabregas is ridiculous and it is just something that will not happen. Chalobah has not even started a PL game for us before. He is still a rookie who has promise but he is not on the elevel of Fabregas. And although I agree as the game went on against Spurs that we dominated, we were also helped by 1, they burned themselves out in first half but 2, being that they also had a game in the week while we had a full week's preparation. FWIW, I thought Kante was awful against Spurs.

So just to reiterate, yes we won against Spurs without Cesc being involved but in the case of Matic being injured, (which I hope he is not), Fabregas will keep his place in the team and rightly so. No way is Conte going to start Chalobah instead of Fabregas. And despite agreeing with some of what you said, majority of games like this, if Fabregas is in the lineup, he will be dictating play and be the key man to provide those passes. Yes, he was vulnerable at times last week but no more than Kante and the others, however did he justify his conclusion in the team? Yes, he did.

We are playing at lunchtime? Well if Conte happens to say, " MMMHmm, This IS a tasty burger.",  then WBA are in very big trouble.

 

On the other hand. this is exactly the sort of game we lose, and that totally fcuks my sense of equilibrium for about a decade or two.

15 hours ago, Ivanov87 said:

Fabregas plays one great pass in an otherwise poor performance and his minions come out in full force.

because he's definitely unfit for our system so we should always focus on his negatives amirite?

antonio said to the daily fail luiz is also questionable for tomorrow because of aguero's kungfu and will evaluate his condition today

jt's injured, luiz possibly out too, does this mean the return of the zoumster??

My prediction. 4-0. Were not in that place where teams like this can get a suprise result. That's Man U territory. We're full of confidence and have a side of world class players who have 'the taste'. Currently reminding me of the Carlo double season where we steamrolled teams like Stoke and West Brom. Up the CHELS!