Strongest Chelsea Lineup To Play Against Liverpool – Mikel, Matic, Kalas And Ake To Start?

There has already much talks about the Chelsea team that Mourinho would field against Liverpool on Sunday. Apparently Mourinho is upset that they have to play the match on Sunday between two matches of the Champions League semi-final against Atletico Madrid and thus will field a relatively weak side. He intends to give enough rest to his main players ahead of the clash against the Spanish side. He has asked for permission to field a weaker side from the Chelsea board and if media reports are to be believed, the board has given him the permission. So unless he surprises us with something extraordinary, this is what his squad should look like next week.

Mark Schwarzer

The veteran goalkeeper will be the first choice after Cech suffered an injury during the first leg of the CL draw which will keep him out for the rest of the season. And to be frank Schwarzer did not perform too badly either. This should put some confidence in boss Jose Mourinho about the shot stopper.

César Azpilicueta

He certainly needs some rest with the prolonged schedule taking a toll on him, but he is an indispensable part of the Chelsea line up at the moment and Mourinho may just have to play him even against his will.

Tomáš Kalas

Chelsea are a bit short on defenders and that may just force Mourinho to play Kalas, the 20 year old Czech, who has played for the senior team just once before to man the backline.

Nathan Ake

The lack of options may also be a boon in disguise for Ake, who may be handed the opportunity to partner Kalas in the backline. Ake has featured three times before and has a bright future ahead of him. These sort of matches would only add to his confidence.

Ashley Cole

The 33 year England international is at the twilight of his Chelsea career and thus he should be motivated to give his best on the field for his side. His experience would come handy in a side full of young players.

Nemanja Matic

He has been one of the most prolific players of the club after his January transfer and Mourinho will trust him to dominate Liverpool in the midfield. His duel with Steven Gerrard may be vital to the outcome of the match.

John Obi Mikel

His performance would be vital to the outcome of the match as Chelsea would depend on him a lot to break the runs made by Suarez and Sturridge and also to restrict Coutinho and Sterling.

Frank Lampard

He is out of the UCL match against Atletico with a card problem and thus is free to play this weekend and carry forward the Chelsea attacks from the midfield position.

Mohamed Salah

This would be interesting to watch as Liverpool were in pole position to get his signing but Chelsea stepped in at the last moment to snatch him. Both the parties would be desperate to prove a point.

Andre Schurrle

One of the better performers this season, Schurrle would be desperate to prove a point and claim his spot in the Chelsea team more frequently.

Demba Ba

He has already scored vital goals for the club on big stages and this would again be a chance to him to prove his worth, before he may be moved to different shores in the summer.