Chelsea players are set to shake hands with opponents Queens Park Rangers today at Loftus Road, despite the fact Anton Ferdinand is likely to face John Terry and Ashley Cole.
It’s the first meeting between the two since the racial allegations made against Terry towards Ferdinand last season, but is it a good idea to have handshakes between the sides in the wake of all this controversy?
It’s a battle of the big spenders this Saturday, as we travel to Loftus Road in high spirits, after winning all three of our fixtures so far, whilst QPR have just the one point from theirs, shipping nine goals in the process.
Rangers have added no less than eleven players this summer, and are yet to really gel as a team, unlike Chelsea, who have seen Hazard and Oscar fit into their set-up remarkably, with the former picking up the man-of-the-match award in every fixture so far.
With John Terry injured for England’s game tonight against Ukraine at Wembley, Frank Lampard believes Gary Cahill is the man to replace his Chelsea team-mate.
That’s likely to be the case, with national manager Roy Hodgson set to pick Cahill to partner Joleon Lescott in the heart of the defence, preferring him to Everton’s Phil Jagielka, and Lampard cites last seasons’ performances in the Champions’ League from Cahill as the main premise for his inclusion.
Florent Malouda’s fall from grace at Chelsea has hit an all time low, with the Frenchman told he is not only omitted from the Blue’s Champions’ League squad this season, but also has to park his car on the academy site next door to the main senior car park.
It’s a dramatic call from manager Roberto Di Matteo, with Malouda having enjoyed five successful seasons with the Stamford Bridge club. In that time, he has made 149 first team appearances in the league, and his recent banishment is sure to leave many fans asking questions.
John Obi Mikel has only scored two goals since his arrival at Stamford Bridge back in 2006, and those came in his first season with the club, but the Nigerian isn’t too concerned with his personal drought in front of goal.
The Chelsea number twelve has gone over five seasons without hitting the net, but such is his importance to the team now as a defensive midfielder, he can’t venture forward or the Blues would be carved open through the middle.
AFTER conceding four goals against Athletico Madrid in the Super Cup final, Chelsea boss Roberto Di Matteo has plenty of work still to do to make the Stamford Bridge outfit a real force again.
Yes they are defending Champions’ League winners and yes they have had a fantastic start to the new Premier League season, but there are still concerned whispers muttering around Stamford Bridge regarding the strength of the squad.
Toure: One of the Premier Leagues highest earners.As was discussed earlier in the week, the veracity of surveys to do with football is somewhat dubious due to various factors but, they’re talking points that can be used to stimulate debates and that is the point of this post.