More good news, Terry rolled his ankle and came hobbling off. This Chelski team that played in Madrid today should scare no one. This was their "Park the Bus", Settle for 0-0" side, and they succeeded. They cannot play for a draw on Sunday. We'll be getting Ba, Oscar, Schurrle, who subbed for Terry. maybe Salah. Don't know about the E'to fitness. Hazzard is close to being ready. Let's hope he's not.
They have plenty of talent to still draw from in any case - regardless of the injuries - though the Cech injury might be a big one as he usually has a blinder against us. Schwarzer Azpilacueta, Cahill, Ivanovic, Cole Matic, Lampard, Salah, Willian Oscar Eto'o (if healed) Schurrle, Ba, Terry, Torres, Mikel, Hazard (maybe), Luiz - bench Not likely how they will line up - but that's the mix of players he has
Things are looking up. I just can't believe that Schwartzer can handle the immense pressure that the Reds will bring in the first half.
Chelsea have a lot of options in their squad. However without Cech who is definitely out and without that Class A gentlemen John Terry who is having a good year and is in very good form I think they will be suspect in the back. If Studge is also ready and we have our front four bombarding them I do not see how their defence and Old Man Schwarzer can cope(he could father most of our team haha, 41 years). Hazard is also a doubt and their best player. They could be missing three out of their best five players and Mourinho may bench a few more hopefully. With that said I would still like to see Terry on the pitch as the goals roll into his net. I like our chances in this game. I think we are too fast for them. Prediction later in the week... YNWA
This will come as a shock to you all, I know, but it seems that Maureen whined in his post-match about the scheduling of the match against us this weekend.
That's really disgraceful calling him Maureen. I used to know a really nice girl named Maureen. You have offended her deeply. asitis
We should really feel bad - It's not like Chelski have essentially 2 full squads composed of International stars to draw upon in case of injuries.
Terry & Cech are confirmed out. http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/27121526 Hopefully that will mean that the Chelsea players will be more worried about where their wives are than the game.
Also, he's threatening to play their entire 'B' team in protest! (If Mr Rubles lets him) http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/apr/23/jose-mourinho-chelsea-liverpool-abramovich
That's just a silly mind game that isn't fooling anyone. It only looks whiny and will work against his team. Quit complaining because you have to play in the Champions League Semi-Finals. Boo ********1ing hoo.
So Jose will end up saying is that now Liverpool's unfair advantage because we missed out on Europe this season is now even MORE unfair because Chelsea are missing key first team players. Oh, and the table is fake.
well you know he always said that if he had to lose the title to someone he'd like it to be to Rodgers, since they were friends... Saying you are going to throw in the towel on the title (which he's already won with Chelsea) and focusing on the CL (which he hasn't won yet with Chelsea) might kind of make sense, in a weird, dysfunctional way... By this I mean saying he's putting out his "B" team against Liverpool works in his favor. He says he can't match us, and so if he loses... "oh well, we were too busy with CL football to do this," but if he wins... "Woo hoo, we're now in the driver's seat! " Frankly, all this is window-dressing... I fully expect Rodgers sets out his team how he decides he wants to face Chelsea regardless. Mourinho has the slight, slight hope that with these complaints/whines, that Rodgers might hold off on playing Sturridge, or other player(s) with significant (but unreported) injuries, to try to rest them. But I'm thinking Rodgers is going all out anyway... and Mourinho knows this, and he knows Liverpool have all the momentum, and Chelsea are whipped right now... So it's all about trying to organize the window-dressing, and protect his team for the CL...
It would be utterly stupid to give even the slightest importance to his words. We should go out with the strongest possible line up and crush him beyond repair. The most overrated manager in the last 10 years. He has won nothing compared to the expectations while managing some of the best clubs in the world.
Lol. He managed to win 2 CL trophies with teams that aren't even considered as top elite teams in Europe. If one thing, he is not overrated. He is a whining hypocrite though.
We all knew he would engage in mind games. He can't go after Rodgers or to a certain extent LFC - cos that is Rodgers too. He will complain about fixture congestion, injuries and whatever else he can dream up. He will concede the title again before Sunday. It is all so predictable and all utter bullshit. Rodgers will have our lads ready and he knows to ignore him. It won't change his preparations and team selection. I hope we destroy them
The best way to look at Whiner's comments so far that I've seen is that "weakened" in no way means "weak" - so we can still expect a strong team but not necessarily the top.
Shoe. Other foot. Etc. In September 2010, Preciado made eight changes for a midweek clash at Barcelona, then made nine changes in the following game as Sporting tried to cope with three matches in seven days. Sporting lost the clash at the Camp Nou 1-0, and Mourinho was furious that Preciado had not played all his regular starters against Real's title rivals noting that: "you can't do this in England." "A team shouldn't give away a game cheaply," said Mourinho about Sporting's team selection. "They should play to the maximum every match. You can't do this in England because you get punished. Let's see if they do it against us."
John Terry being out is huge. His defensive performances have been nothing short of amazing. Now we'll have to see which David Luiz shows up.
Especially against Crystal Palace! No doubting his defensive prowess, but he is Chelsea's Steven Gerrard in terms of leadership. More than anything else CFC will need proven leaders who have done the big European nights and such in the white hot cauldron of Anfield on Sunday. Good news.
Hazard wasn't in a great vein of form before his injury (I know, he did nothing for my fantasy team ) - and him showing up with 3 weeks worth of rust doesn't bother me much, either. His temporary blip in form could also be blamed on maureen reverting to his defensive posture of late and forcing him to hold back some of attacking desires.
Jose is like a terrorist. The only way his methods work are if they get people talking and change their behavior. He's like Tiger Woods, who would opt to putt out a hole following a miss so that the gallery would move to the next hole while his opponent would have to finish out a longer putt. That tactic caused his opponent to change his approach towards the putt. Once Tiger's coach switched to Phil Mickelson, Mickelson was on to his tricks and results started swinging his way. Also, like Chelsea's squad, Tiger Woods also had notorious injury and infidelity problems. Rodgers won't buy into the hype. He's a very psychological manager and will have the boys primed to play. To be honest, Jose's best chances are to employ his Barcelona tactics against us - sit very deep and play direct to a striker. I imagine he'll select Matic and Luiz as midfielders if he can afford to have someone other than Luiz fill Terry's CB spot. Oscar, Hazard (maybe), Willian, and Schurle playing centrally is what I imagine we'll see as the attacking group.