Kepa

 

James

christensen 

Zouma 

Emerson 

 

Jorginho 

Kante 

 

Mount

Barkley 

Pulisic 

 

Abraham 

Think we'll hold back on James and maybe give him 30 mins v Sheff Utd if we can. Pukki is in form so could do with Azpilacuetta's experience.

I'd start Kovacic over Barkley and maybe Giroud over Abraham, again next game for them might be better.

Norwich have their tails up and will want to play football, we were all over the place for the last 60 minutes against Leicester, i want to see some order and solidity.

Against Liverpool the 4-3-3 formation worked very well. With Kante  Jorginho  Kovacic we have three players who had a season together and won silverware, they are to some degree proven players. It allows Kante to push up and Jorginho to control midfield with Kovacic just holding up a little.

It does mean we lose a forward player, and a little width, but Emerson has done well with his up/down job, Reece is almost ready to do a job the other side.

 

                          Kepa

James    Rudiger   Christensen   Emerson

          Kante     Jorginho    Kovacic

               Pedro            Mount

                         Tammy

This won't be easy. We need a string of wins to solidify. Norwich would be a great start for that. They have an in form striker in Pukki and we are not using our chances very well.

10 hours ago, DP2 said:

Think we'll hold back on James and maybe give him 30 mins v Sheff Utd if we can. Pukki is in form so could do with Azpilacuetta's experience.

I'd start Kovacic over Barkley and maybe Giroud over Abraham, again next game for them might be better.

Norwich wont be easy but neither will be facing the blades. Their defense is impressive.

16 hours ago, axman2526 said:

Kepa

 

James

christensen 

Zouma 

Emerson 

 

Jorginho 

Kante 

 

Mount

Barkley 

Pulisic 

 

Abraham 

 

8 hours ago, coco said:

Norwich have their tails up and will want to play football, we were all over the place for the last 60 minutes against Leicester, i want to see some order and solidity.

Against Liverpool the 4-3-3 formation worked very well. With Kante  Jorginho  Kovacic we have three players who had a season together and won silverware, they are to some degree proven players. It allows Kante to push up and Jorginho to control midfield with Kovacic just holding up a little.

It does mean we lose a forward player, and a little width, but Emerson has done well with his up/down job, Reece is almost ready to do a job the other side.

 

                          Kepa

James    Rudiger   Christensen   Emerson

          Kante     Jorginho    Kovacic

               Pedro            Mount

                         Tammy

I haven't seen any news regarding James being ready to play, has he been back and fully training?  I know Frank said he was close, but I was unaware that he was close enough to play this weekend.

He will recover like Kante I reckon. And we need him and his leadership so he needs to play.

If CHO is half fit he should start too.

Are James & Ruidiger both fit now? 

 

19 minutes ago, mclovin83 said:

Are James & Ruidiger both fit now? 

 

Rudiger played in the under 23s tonight, James isn't back yet. 

Rudiger played in the under 23s tonight, James isn't back yet. 

Our starting 11 could look much different as the season progresses. Rudiger, James, CHO and Ruben all in the side.

4 hours ago, axman2526 said:

 

If CHO is half fit he should start too.

I know what John McEnroe would say about that.

1 hour ago, evissy said:

2 hours ago, dkw said:

Rudiger played in the under 23s tonight, James isn't back yet. 

Our starting 11 could look much different as the season progresses. Rudiger, James, CHO and Ruben all in the side.

Long road for RLC. Rudiger, James and CHO should all be back in contention after the international break I saw somewhere.

33 minutes ago, Dixons said:

I know what John McEnroe would say about that.

Anyone is better than Willian?

4 minutes ago, axman2526 said:

Long road for RLC. Rudiger, James and CHO should all be back in contention after the international break I saw somewhere.

Any idea how long for RLC?  

9 minutes ago, Dixons said:

Any idea how long for RLC?  

I heard Feburary but not sure if that was able to play reserves then or expected to be fully ready for first team.

Rudiger just had a good run out with the U23s so he’s should be back soon. Maybe a start on Saturday will be a bit much. 

I 

14 hours ago, coco said:

Norwich have their tails up and will want to play football, we were all over the place for the last 60 minutes against Leicester, i want to see some order and solidity.

Against Liverpool the 4-3-3 formation worked very well. With Kante  Jorginho  Kovacic we have three players who had a season together and won silverware, they are to some degree proven players. It allows Kante to push up and Jorginho to control midfield with Kovacic just holding up a little.

It does mean we lose a forward player, and a little width, but Emerson has done well with his up/down job, Reece is almost ready to do a job the other side.

 

                          Kepa

James    Rudiger   Christensen   Emerson

          Kante     Jorginho    Kovacic

               Pedro            Mount

                         Tammy

Agree about Norwich being confident.

My selection would be a little different

                          Kepa

Azpi  Christensen  Zouma  Emerson

Kante     Jorginho    Kovacic

    Pulisic                     Mount

               Giroud

 

Hope we go with 433 we look much better in possession, we really struggled keeping the ball with the 4231 against Leicester after the very good first 20 minutes.

Might be very unpopular but I'd consider starting Zappacosta over Azpi, With James still out and Azpilicueta struggling big time recently it wouldn't be a bad time to give him a game.

                                                                                          Kepa
                                                            Zappacosta Christensen Zouma Emerson
                                                                                       Jorginho
                                                                             Kante               Mount/Kovacic
                                                                  Pedro            Giroud/Bats           Pulisic

Pedro has put a good shift in yet his shooting has been poor. I would be tempted to bench him with the idea of bringing him on fresh in the second in case we run out of steam in the second half.

This is a must win for me, we really need to get a win now. The longer the poor results continue, the more difficult it is to turn it around.

Absolutely. The players will pretty quickly start to question the style and tactics and if the striker doesn't score they wont play the ball to him and the mess is really on. This is what happened with Sarri last season. Pressure start to mount on Frank and the players.

Everyone always say it is so easy when you win. It is a habit and it carries on and lifts everyone. We need the hard work to be paid very soon. Hopefully in this game.

I don't think any game this early in the season is must win, but this will be the first game where we'll be overwhelming enough favourites that a win is the fair expectation. Leicester are pretty well-regarded at the moment and will be a banana skin for others too.

9 hours ago, axman2526 said:

I heard Feburary but not sure if that was able to play reserves then or expected to be fully ready for first team.

I read on physioroom (not sure of its reputation) that Loftus Cheek is expected to be back training early November. The same site says James and Hudson Adoi expected to return mid September...Marko Van Ginkel is "unknown".

By christmas our team could be Kepa, James, Rudiger, Christensen, Emerson, Kante, Jorginho, RLC, CHO, Pulisic and somebody else. Only 4 of those started v Leicester last December, 5 if you include somebody else. Thats a lot of change on top of the new management.

It will be interesting who Rudiger starts over at Norwich (assuming he starts).

This is a perfect opportunity. They gonna make some chances, especially with our way of defending, but they will also be exposed and perfect for our fast one touch attacks. Something like 1-3 or 2-4 is my prediction. We better be clinical and get the points coz we need them desperately. Not that I give a damn about top 4 or not, this young group and our young coach need confidence.