Good news for us he is carrying them.

 

 

53 minutes ago, andy said:

Good news for us he is carrying them.

 

 

True, without zlatan they would be pretty stale for goals.

38% of uniteds goals in the league have come from him, and he has 4 assists as well.

He will be a big miss for them.

 

Remember when Jose set us up ultra, ultra defensive against Atletico Madrid at the Bridge in the 2nd leg of the Semi-Final of the UCL?

I'm fully expecting Jose to do something similar for this game, he'll desperately not want to lose this game, not after the 4-0.

We could play Ake, hes good enough for the level, however, we should go full strentgth, we've got nearly a full weeks rest for this game where as Utd are off to the arse end of Russia for a Thursday night game agaisnt a tough Rostov side.

I can us winning 3-1, Utd simply arent good enough, theyve been 6th for the best part of 3 months.

The only hope Utd have is if they sit back and catch us on the break. They could play with Martial or Rashford for the pace but I just can't see it. Their defence isn't good enough to play this way and if they have a go they will leak goals. The only positive for them missing Ibrahimovic is that they will have the opportunity to play on the break. If he's in the team they cannot break quickly.

I also think Jose doesn't know how to beat this Chelsea team. The look of surprise on his face during the 4-0 was an absolute picture. Pogba is a big lump so I would put Matic on him but player for player we are the better team. On top of that we have a formula to our play and Utd have yet to discover how best to play.

Remember when Jose was here in his 2nd stint, and we played Utd.  They had somewhere near 70% possession and we won 1-0.  In his post match interview they asked Jose if this was his plan, and he chuckled and said "yes, i love it."

I can see him trying the same with this game.  I fully expect lots of possession and for that reason i think we will need Fabregas to start.

 

must not get over confident here, chelsea may be better all over but jose will relish being the underdog and is sure to park the bus as we all expect. I just hope we absolutely humiliate them and then go on to win the prem at old trafford with a costa or fabregas stoppage time goal

Can't wait for this. Really cannot f**king wait for this. 

Time to Disgrace Mourinho again. I cant wait for him to destroy his chelsea legacy during the pre match Interview..  

yeah the interviewers first question should be "so what happened to the legacy you was going to be build jose"

I think Mourinho will set up defensively and try to hit on the break the way he did several times with us. The big difference though is that  had quality defenders. Utd defence is sh*t.

Jose will deploy the siege mentality and deep defending counter tactic, like the famous game at Anfeld. The problem is I don't think it's been working for quite a while, and that team doesn't have the characters and traits to implement the plan. I don't think we need many changes, players should be able to play 3 games in 8 days. It's United, it's Jose, it's FA cup tie at home, we shouldn't do them any favours.

Utd will be a little unpredictable without Ibrahimovic so Jose will not only have to plan around that but also stop another 4-0. This is a real challenge for him personally. He could suffer some irreparable damage if they get beaten badly. His Utd are set up as a slightly more attacking formation than his Chelsea because the club demand it, but he hasn't hit on a regular eleven or pattern of play. He will have to stop the early goal. That is for sure. (If we get an early goal he will have a seizure.)  He will demand no repeat after Pedros early goal. An early goal dictates the tactics and he knows this. He will have to set up more defensively because of this. He will try to kill the game early on. Pack out the midfield and could even put a marker on Kante. He has an eye on the Europa League so lets see how they go tonight but I think his best attacking option will be out and out pace. Rashford on the break probably.

The problem for him is that his team, man for man and as a group, is inferior to Chelsea. We have too much for them all over the pitch. Chelsea's attacking options come from all over the pitch and we can soak it up if we have to. Utd will crack.

4-0 and a seizure for Jose.

Unfortunately going to miss the game and few of our games in the month or maybe 2, joining the army. I really hope we will do the job here, and continue in this competition. Every trophy is important, especially for Conte because he's a real winner.

I want us to attend with a strong starting XI, but I'd like to see Chalobah and Zouma in it.

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

----- Azpilicueta --- David Luiz ---- Zouma ------

Moses --------- Kante ------- Chalobah ------- Alonso

------------ Fabregas ---------------- Hazard -----------

------------------------- Diego Costa -------------------

With Pedro and Willian coming for the bench we can kill the game.

COME ON CHELS!!!!

Referee: Michael Oliver

no penalties please

43 minutes ago, Mike Carefree said:

no penalties please

right. also heard the teams will be allowed a 4th sub if we get to extra time

Other than United sitting back and waiting to counter I have no idea what is going to happen. Wouldn't it be big FU if Jose set them up to press and push up from the whistle though?

Edited March 8, 20179 yr by TheChelseaBlues

Also remember that United play tomorrow night in Russia on a solid, horrible pitch in a crucial EL game. Jose has got to put EL before the FA cup so I expect United to play a weakened team given that they play again on the following Thursday. 

We should fully expect to beat them and easily too given our form and weeks rest. 

OMG. i hate Barca but DAEEEM RESPECT

I am already buzzing for this one. Man U may pose a bigger challenge without Zlatan as many have suggested due to the mystery tactics from Jose. Wait, no way. It will not be a mystery. We know it will be the Ba game vs Liverpool tactics. Poor mouth, starting the second team, blah, blah. It will be a challenge and am glad it is at the Bridge!

With each passing day we seem to get a tighter and tighter grip on the Premier League Trophy. Adding the FA Cup double would make for a fabulous season, especially after whatever happened to last year.

Some may say the FA Cup just does not matter. I am sorry. It does. It is a tradition laden Cup and is the perfect compliment to the round robin season in the Premier League by being a knockout format. If you do not believe it matters, check in on Wembley the third weekend in April if we are lined up vs either Arsenal or Tottenham (likely we would get one of those two). It will absolutely matter in the stands and on the pitch. Would love a chance at Spurs again. The semis could have three out of four being London clubs. Has that happened previously? Surely it has.

Do you go full strength XI for this one? I think so since it is not a weeknight game. Would love to see JT get another FA start, but not sure he does in this one.

We have had some memorable wins vs United in the FA Cup at the Bridge. Let's do it again!

Come on you Chelsea!!

4 hours ago, Chelsea Buzz said:

I am already buzzing for this one. Man U may pose a bigger challenge without Zlatan as many have suggested due to the mystery tactics from Jose. Wait, no way. It will not be a mystery. We know it will be the Ba game vs Liverpool tactics. Poor mouth, starting the second team, blah, blah. It will be a challenge and am glad it is at the Bridge!

With each passing day we seem to get a tighter and tighter grip on the Premier League Trophy. Adding the FA Cup double would make for a fabulous season, especially after whatever happened to last year.

Some may say the FA Cup just does not matter. I am sorry. It does. It is a tradition laden Cup and is the perfect compliment to the round robin season in the Premier League by being a knockout format. If you do not believe it matters, check in on Wembley the third weekend in April if we are lined up vs either Arsenal or Tottenham (likely we would get one of those two). It will absolutely matter in the stands and on the pitch. Would love a chance at Spurs again. The semis could have three out of four being London clubs. Has that happened previously? Surely it has.

Do you go full strength XI for this one? I think so since it is not a weeknight game. Would love to see JT get another FA start, but not sure he does in this one.

We have had some memorable wins vs United in the FA Cup at the Bridge. Let's do it again!

Come on you Chelsea!!

Putting team and tactics aside for a minute, there is another big issue we need to address, 6k mancs in the shed making a hell of a noise!! We fans also have to be on our game for this one! No sitting on hands like dummies we really do have to up the  bridge atmosphere, let 'the bitter one' know he wasn't right our fans aren't sh*te!!! Extended weekend this week can't wait till Monday!!!!! Carefree

Cant wait for this one, most excited Ive been for a game all season. Its on my birthday as well so should be a fun day.

46 minutes ago, Xfaxtor said:

Cant wait for this one, most excited Ive been for a game all season. Its on my birthday as well so should be a fun day.

Hey, me too :)

Coming all the way from Norway for this one. First FA cup game I'll be at, but my record is really solid with 5-1-0 when Im at the Bridge. Has been at West Ham, Everton and Hull this season.

1 hour ago, Vinje_jr said:

Hey, me too :)

Coming all the way from Norway for this one. First FA cup game I'll be at, but my record is really solid with 5-1-0 when Im at the Bridge. Has been at West Ham, Everton and Hull this season.

Were in Norway are you from?

For some reason i could half see Jose fielding a weakened team as an excuse for a number of reasons.

1) He can then say he's focusing on the Europa League/Top 4.

2) Missing Zlatan and is likely to lose anyway so field a weakened team and make it look like his plan and save the embarrassment.

3) If he wins with a weakened team with very defensive tactics he looks like a genius. 

4) He's already won the league cup so the need for silverware isn't as desperate had he lost in the final.