José Mourinho was certainly not expecting to start the new season with a defeat against Arsenal for the FA Community Shield. Chelsea showed some signs of complacency here and there and the Portuguese manager is probably the one to blame for that, since this time his usual mind games in a way backfired at him.
The Gunners were fairly superior during several periods of the match and had, in fact, the best goal chances throughout the 90 minutes. Chelsea’s 4-2-3-1 style crashed into Arsene Wenger’s hybrid 4-3-3 and the Blues experienced some difficulty in implementing their game.
Mourinho will probably not change much in the team for the first season match against Swansea and, that being said, this is Chelsea’s strongest possible lineup for next Saturday’s clash.
Goalkeeper
Regardless of the arrival of Asmir Begovic this summer, the young Belgian netminder, Thibaut Courtois, will be Chelsea’s goalkeeper for the opening match of the English Premier League next weekend against the Swans.
Defence
José Mourinho will most certainly not change much of his defensive quartet this season, but the hypothetical arrival of a new left back over the next couple of weeks might give the Portuguese manager another reliable option for that particular position.
Branislav Ivanovic, John Terry, Gary Cahill and Cesar Azpilicueta will probably constitute Chelsea’s back line next Saturday.
Midfield
“The Special One” will certainly opt for his slight variation of the traditional 4-3-3 style, with two men in front of the defence line and another one acting as some sort of advanced playmaker in front of them.
In his 4-2-3-1 approach, Nemanja Matic and Ramires will play as defensive midfielder and as deep-lying playmaker respectively and Cesc Fabregas, Willian and Eden Hazard will form the dynamic trio that supports the lone ranger up front.
Forward
With Diego Costa sidelined due to injury once again, José Mourinho will have to trust the centre forward position to the inconsistent French striker Loic Remy or to the once prolific sharpshooter Radamel Falcao. The Colombian forward has only arrived this summer and he is nothing but a shadow of the player he used to be, but he probably is the best option to battle with Swansea’s powerful centre backs.
José Mourinho recently confessed, regarding absence of Diego Costa, to the media that last season he never knew when the Brazilian born Spanish international was fully fit to play. On the other hand, the Portuguese manager has also recently praised “El Tigre” Falcao and claimed that he knew how to bring that old good goal scoring machine back.
(4-5-1)
