Strongest Chelsea Line Up To Play Against PSG: Hazard, Willian And Eto’o Should Start

With feigning wariness Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho squashed claims that his side would inevitably turn around the 1-3 deficit in the second leg of the Champions League Quarter finals in midweek. Mourinho might perhaps be wary of the fact that handling expectations might in all sense might not be so easy as it seems. The Stamford Bridge unit will have a tough task against the Parisians but the Blues faithful would try to turn their pages back in history, taking motivation and sheer determination, like they turned it around against Napoli two years ago.

Can the John Terry led unit be up for the occasion and give their all in front of the vociferous home faithful? What will be Mourinho’s best possible lineup to thwart the star studded attack of PSG? We here at Soccersouls have the answer for our readers.

Goalkeeper:

Petr Cech will be under immense pressure but with Zlatan Ibrahimovic missing the second leg, he can ill afford to rest on his laurels. With Brazilian Lucas Moura to start in place of the Swedish dynamite, the Czech International will have to play out for his skin to enforce a clean sheet and a much needed shout out on the night. The tie does look beyond Chelsea but keeping a clean sheet would be the foremost priority, for an away goal conceded, the task become tougher by two folds.

Defence:

Branislav Ivanovic is expected to play in right back and he will have a job on his hands to stop the brilliant Ezequiel Lavezzi, the Argentine who was on fire in the first leg. Cesar Azpilicueta has been Chelsea’s most improved player this season but the Spaniard has shown fragilities in the last two weeks and will in all probability come out second best against the pacy Lucas Moura, but Azpilicueta must not give up running for the cause. PSG are one of the most devastating teams in terms of attacking abilities and Laurent Blanc’s side can take advantage of unmarked spaces to the best possible extent. John Terry and Gary Cahill face another tough ninety minutes to keep Edin Cavani at bay in the final third.

Midfield:

With Nemanja Matic ineligible for the tie having featured for Benfica earlier in the competition and Ramires suspended, Mourinho has to start David Luiz and Frank Lampard in the middle of the park as the double pivot of his 4-2-3-1 setup. Oscar will start in his favourite number ten role while the onus would be on Eden Hazard and Willian to take the game to the away side. If Chelsea are to get back into the game, the triumvirate behind the lone striker have to play out of their skin to get anywhere closer to force extra time at the end of the normal ninety minutes.

Strike Force:

Cameroonian Samuel Eto’o is still a major doubt for the clash after suffering a hamstring injury which has kept him out of action for two weeks now and with Andre Schurrle failing to make an impact as a false nine in Paris last week, Fernando Torres will start as the lone man up front.  Chelsea know it’s a tall order to claw back in the tie but if the home side can grab a quick goal at the beginning, the match will be nicely set up for a frantic finish.

However, as per reports Eto’o has started training and if he could prove his fitness before the match, he will most likely be given the nod ahead of Torres and Schurrle.