Chelsea were brought crashing back down to earth after a rather shambolic defensive display away to Tottenham on New Year’s Day. Chelsea were the 2nd best team by a long shot against an impressive Tottenham and were blown away by a Harry-Kane, sorry, had to put that in. Chelsea conceded 5 goals for the first time in the league under Jose Mourinho that is a damning stat to say the least.
The Blues now must pick themselves up as they prepare to start their FA Cup journey with their first game against Watford at Stamford Bridge, there are going to be quite a few changes for the Blues as they take on lower league opposition and we have the predicted starting line-up for Chelsea. One important change will resting Gary Cahill who had a nightmare at White Hart Lane last Sunday. Even, Terry deserves a rest day.
Petr Cech
Although Courtois wasn’t at fault for all of the goals, it might be time to give the Belgian some rest and having a player of Cech’s calibre would be ideal to bring into a cup game, especially with Cech wanting to impress Mourinho.
Felipe Luis
Branislav Ivanovic has been good for Chelsea at the right back spot but most of Spurs’ goals came from their left and with Ivanovic playing as right back, it might be time to give him a break.
Kurt Zouma
The beast of a French defender hasn’t got enough chances to play for the Chelsea. This would be the perfect game to not only rest John Terry but give Zouma the chance to prove he is good enough to play at this level.
Branislav Ivanovic
The Serbian should be given a chance to play as a central defender, while he has done very well as a right back, his preferred role is that of a central defender and he should be deployed in that role for the Blues against Watford.
Cesar Azpilicueta
A lot of pundits rate Cesar as the best defender that Chelsea have got and although he doesn’t produce those sparkling performances that you would want, he does get the job done and often covers for the central defenders.
Ramires
Ramires was not the worst player when he played for Chelsea a couple of weeks back. The Chelsea pairing of Matic and Fabregas was taken apart so easily last time around, Jose might want to give the Brazilian a chance to play.
Cesc Fabregas
He had a hand in almost every good attacking move that Chelsea had and along with Eden Hazard were the two best players Chelsea had against Tottenham.
John Obi Mikel
Another midfielder who seems to be getting fewer minutes than expected, he should get a chance since he would provide Chelsea with fresh legs in midfield and he doesn’t have to travel for the African Cup of nations either.
Andre Schurrle
Andre hasn’t had the best time at Chelsea and this might be his final chance to impress before he gets shipped off to another club.
Mohammed Salah
The Egyptian seems to spend more time on the bench than on the field and he might be given a chance to prove himself against Watford.
Loic Remy
The Frenchman should play in place of Diego Costa who needs a rest. Costa scored against Spurs but he should get a break and with this game being played at home, this is the ideal time to give the French striker a go.