Thursday night football?

As I said before the home game they are absolutely Flippin hopeless. Complete and utterly useless.

We really should be thrashing them.

For me the big game coming up is the Lille return leg.

We are in a strong position but with no away goals it is not as strong as previous years.

I would like to see most of, if not all, the starters for Lille face Newcastle on Sunday, and have a few of them rested against Norwich.

 

Mendy

 

Trev

Christensen

Rudiger

 

CHO

Jorginho 

Saul

Kenedy

 

Ziyech

Lukaku

Werner

 

With it in mind for the following two games to be:

 

Mendy

 

Dave

Silva

Rudiger

 

James

Kante

Kovacic

Alonso

 

Mount

Havertz

Pulisic 

Edited March 6, 20224 yr by axman2526

Is this not on the tv? I’ve looked on Channel 5…

36 minutes ago, Munkworth said:

Is this not on the tv? I’ve looked on Channel 5…

On 06/03/2022 at 01:04, axman2526 said:

For me the big game coming up is the Lille return leg.

We are in a strong position but with no away goals it is not as strong as previous years.

Away goals don't matter anymore iirc.

2 hours ago, Munkworth said:

Is this not on the tv? I’ve looked on Channel 5…

No, it doesn’t appear to be on tv. I thought it might have been on BT Sport.

BT Sport are covering Europa League games on Thursday.

Edited March 7, 20224 yr by erskblue

1 hour ago, Vagabond said:

Away goals don't matter anymore iirc.

Aye that is what I said. If away goals were still a thing one goal there for us would mean they need 4, now 1 goal for us means they need 3. So we are not in as strong a position as we would have been last season.

It is certainly are most important game coming up. Never know a good draw and a run of form and we may have a chance again. 

4 hours ago, coco said:

Do they still do very softcore blueys on channel 5 late night?

Should be a warm up for Lukaku and Werner.   3 points would be useful; can't have Arsenal thinking they can finish 3rd. 

When was the last time Rudi got a bit of rest? I can't recall a game without him in the lineup, even in the cups he was being shifted left centre and right. 

Feel it'd be for the best that he gets some time off this one. Other than that, I think usual rotation in the attack is coming.

19 hours ago, Mod said:

Do they still do very softcore blueys on channel 5 late night?

I'm pretty sure apart from cricket highlights I've never watched a single show on Channel 5. Bizarrely the singer and actor Adam Faith's last words were Channel 5 is a bit sh*t isn't it. 🤣

On 05/03/2022 at 19:04, axman2526 said:

For me the big game coming up is the Lille return leg.

We are in a strong position but with no away goals it is not as strong as previous years.

I would like to see most of, if not all, the starters for Lille face Newcastle on Sunday, and have a few of them rested against Norwich.

 

Mendy

 

Trev

Christensen

Rudiger

 

CHO

Jorginho 

Saul

Kenedy

 

Ziyech

Lukaku

Werner

 

With it in mind for the following two games to be:

 

Mendy

 

Dave

Silva

Rudiger

 

James

Kante

Kovacic

Alonso

 

Mount

Havertz

Pulisic 

 

I like the idea, rest most of the best players because it's Norwich City.   Save them for an in form Newcastle and to finish off Lille.

I would make a few changes.

 

Saul in for Kenedy and Sarr in for Rudinger against Norwich.

 

I thought Saul had a decent match against Burnley at left wingback and I'd sort of like to give him a shot against Norwich to see if that was a blip on the radar or if he could reliably be played there.

I would consider playing Saul against Newcastle as well.

Against Lille I think I would play Alonso.  He is probably the better defender and while I don't want us to park the bus against Lille we should probably play it a little more conservatively than usual.  

 

If Ziyech is available and can play the full 90 I think you need to consider him against Newcastle or Lille.  He was hitting his form prior to getting hurt.  If he's still in form he's probably a better start than Mount.  If he's not than you play Mount out there.  

 

So basically your idea but let Ziyech and Saul play to earn a start against Newcastle and Ziyech a start against Lille.  And rest Rudi.   

Edited March 8, 20224 yr by Valpo

1 hour ago, Valpo said:

 

I like the idea, rest most of the best players because it's Norwich City.   Save them for an in form Newcastle and to finish off Lille.

I would make a few changes.

 

Saul in for Kenedy and Sarr in for Rudinger against Norwich.

 

I thought Saul had a decent match against Burnley at left wingback and I'd sort of like to give him a shot against Norwich to see if that was a blip on the radar or if he could reliably be played there.

I would consider playing Saul against Newcastle as well.

Against Lille I think I would play Alonso.  He is probably the better defender and while I don't want us to park the bus against Lille we should probably play it a little more conservatively than usual.  

 

If Ziyech is available and can play the full 90 I think you need to consider him against Newcastle or Lille.  He was hitting his form prior to getting hurt.  If he's still in form he's probably a better start than Mount.  If he's not than you play Mount out there.  

 

So basically your idea but let Ziyech and Saul play to earn a start against Newcastle and Ziyech a start against Lille.  And rest Rudi.   

Already had Saul playing in the middle two against Norwich though, cannot ask him to fill two positions 😉

5 minutes ago, axman2526 said:

Already had Saul playing in the middle two against Norwich though, cannot ask him to fill two positions 😉

Wages like that and he can't play in two positions at the same time against Norwich?!

51 minutes ago, axman2526 said:

Already had Saul playing in the middle two against Norwich though, cannot ask him to fill two positions 😉

 

Missed that!  I might move him to WB and put RLC in there for him then.  

6 hours ago, Brigadeiro Mk II said:

When was the last time Rudi got a bit of rest? I can't recall a game without him in the lineup, even in the cups he was being shifted left centre and right. 

Feel it'd be for the best that he gets some time off this one. Other than that, I think usual rotation in the attack is coming.

Rudiger can be run in to the ground and ruined for his next club. If he wants a day off he can sign the bloody contract!

Must win game, if we have any aspirations of closing the gap to city to 10 points and getting closer by the season end. Id still go quite strong and i think Tuchel will

Anything less than 3 points would be unacceptable. Really hope Havertz starts again, he’s so much better.

If Lukaku starts, it will be 0-0 and what a wonderful pass by Mount, oh no Lukaku didn’t see the pass coming!

Tricky selection. When facing a completely out of form side it's tempting to focus on the bigger games right afterwards, but a game like this can actually be an opportunity to cement our rhythm. Some players might benefit from a bit of rest, but overall I believe our young players can cope with Thursday-Sunday-Wednesday, as long as we make early and generous use of our substitutions. I would play

----Pulisic----Havertz----Mount----

Saul----Jorginho---Kovacic---James

---Rüdiger------AC4----Chalobah---

----------------Mendy----------------

- A game like this could be really valuable for the harmony within our preferred frontline. I'm not sure if this currently includes Mount or Ziyech, but as the latter is returning from a knock I'd just about give Mount the start and give Ziyech some decent time in the 2nd half

- The other important aspect is the transition between midfield and attack. While Kanté should be rested, I'd be for starting Jorgi and Kova together

- James should gather more match fitness and be subbed second half

- Chalobah could also profit from this game to find his rhythm again

- I believe Silva and Rüdiger might need a break, but benching them both in the same game would be risky. I'd play Sarr-Silva-X against Newcastle

- AC4 is gone but we're paying him for the rest of the season so we should not shy away from using him. Some players blossom after signing for another club, like Süle being Bayern's best defender rn

- Subs: Azpi->James; Ziyech-> Mount; RLC-> Kovacic

Looks like James is out for this game with injury.

Only reason I can see that this and 3 other Pl games are tomorrow and none are today is so they did not clash with CL matches.

Really is silly they are not playing today.

Match Day!

Come On Chelsea!!