So tomorrow's game against Sunderland at the Stadium of Light should be an interesting one, to say the least. While Chelsea are expected to win, there will be some lineup changes, with Drogba being ruled out after a concussion, and David Luiz and Petr Cech likely to return to the starting 11, as well as the new addition of Raul Meireles in midfield.
With Drogba out for at least tomorrow's game (hopefully he'll be fit for next weekend's battle with Manchester United at Old Trafford), André Villas-Boas will likely switch back to his favoured 4-3-3 formation, with the attack force being based around (guess who?) Fernando Torres.
FORWARDS:
Juan Mata will be hoping for another brilliant performance tomorrow, with what I believe will be a starting position on the left wing. Hopefully he'll be able to send in some nice crosses for Torres, who will most likely be playing in the centre. My guess is that André Villas-Boas will likely go to Nicolas Anelka for the right-winger position. My belief is that sometime during the last half-hour Lukaku will come on for Torres, and Sturridge may get a chance to prove himself with a substitution for Anelka.
MIDFIELDERS:
What André Villas-Boas chooses to do in midfield will be anybody's guess. I'll have a go and say that he'll stick with his usual lineup of Frank Lampard in the middle, with Ramires and John Obi Mikel flanking him on the right and left, respectively. However, I do believe that at some point during the match Raul Meireles will make his debut for Chelsea and come on for one of these three. Most likely he'll be in for Lampard in the centre, as Ramires has excellent stamina and Meireles isn't very comfortable on his left.
DEFENDERS:
With the probable return of David Luiz, André Villas-Boas will most likely go with a back four consisting of Ashley Cole on the left, John Terry and David Luiz in the centre, and either Branislav Ivanovic or Bosingwa on the right. My best guess will be that Ivanovic will start in the hope of being able to successfully shut down the likes of Nicklas Bendtner and his 6 foot 5 inch stature.
GOALKEEPER:
Petr Cech is most likely returning to play in tomorrow's match! Cheers all around!
BENCH:
Henrique Hilário, Bosingwa, Alex, Josh McEachran, Raul Meireles, Romelu Lukaku, Daniel Sturridge.
Here's my projected lineup:
Mata ------------- Torres (Lukaku) -------------- Anelka (Sturridge)
Mikel ----------- Lampard (Meireles) ------------- Ramires
Cole ------------- Terry ------------- Luiz ------------- Ivanovic
Cech
Sorry it's not super-beautiful, but I have absolutely no idea how to make it all pretty with pictures and numbered jerseys and a soccer field background. I'll figure it out eventually - give me some time.
MY PREDICTION: 2-0 Chelsea. Do you have a different score-line prediction? Write it in the comments!
MY PREDICTION: 2-0 Chelsea. Do you have a different score-line prediction? Write it in the comments!
Good luck to us all tomorrow.
Up Chelsea!
LoTs of interesting predictions but you left out the most important one.... namely how many yellow cards.
ReplyDeleteMy prediction...4
One to Chelsea
Two to Sunderland
And one to the player that mistakenly parks their car in Villas-Boas' reserved spot.