Chelsea travel to the Turk Telekom Arena to play against Turkish champions Galatasaray in the Round of 16 in the Champions League. The match is the first leg between the two sides and will take place Wednesday, February 26th.
Formation: 4-2-3-1
The addition and subtraction of new players is always in direct relation to this formation, and it has rarely changed. This is a formation Chelsea have become accompanied with in the past years and will not change anytime soon.
Goalkeeper: Petr Čech
The Czech goalkeeper will start. This late into the season we can be expecting to see Čech to start over backup keeper Mark Schwarzer. The Champions League is something Mourinho places a huge importance on and will be going all out in the competition.
Right Back: Branislav Ivanovic
The Serbian, along with fellow fullback Cesar Azplilicueta, are the most consistent players on the Chelsea squad. His age has not restricted his ability to cross in balls and recover on defense. It’s almost safe to say that he will not be involved in any goals being scored on the Chelsea goal.
Center Backs: John Terry and Gary Cahill
This game symbolizes the reunion of Didier Drogba, a Chelsea hero, and the current squad. To stop the Chelsea legend the best defense must be deployed. David Luiz will be operating in the midfield in fear of slipping up and granting Drogba a chance at goal. At the beginning of the season, Chelsea’s defense was put under enormous and justifiable criticism. This criticism has slowly depleted as the number of clean sheets has risen.
Left Back: Cesar Azpilicueta
The Spaniard can now confidently say he is the starting left back for Chelsea. Cole has fallen out of the squad, and will probably start against the much weaker Fulham later in the week.
Center Defensive Midfielders: David Luiz and John Obi Mikel
Luiz is coming back from a muscle injury and is healthy enough to rejoin the squad. The defensive minded Mikel will make a start that he will relish. With the arrival of Serbian star Nemanja Matic, Mikel will take any playing time he can get. Frank Lampard and Nemanja Matic will rest for this game.
Left Wing: Eden Hazard
The Belgian starlet has to be included in every game’s lineup. He provides such tenacity and skill in the midfield and can produce in front of goal. He is undoubtedly one of the world’s greatest players and at his young age there is still so much potential. Do not be surprised to see his name on the score sheet by the end of this one.
Center Attacking Midfielder: Oscar
The Brazilian has been out of form for the last few weeks and will hope to get on the score sheet. This game for him could be pivotal for the rest of the season.
Right Wing: Willian
Oscar’s fellow Brazilian has solidly held down his position in his new squad. He will be looking to put in quite the effort to prove his dominance over Salah and Schürrle.
Striker: Samuel Eto’o
Both other strikers, Demba Ba and Fernando Torres have taken a recent falling out of the squad. Recent rumors suggest a Torres sale. With this new info just emerging, Eto’o is likely to start.
