Injuries, fixtures give Mourinho a selection quandary against Baggies The international fixtures might be over for this calendar year, but for Chelsea there is still much to accomplish before the bell tolls on 2014. A start to the season that has exceeded expectations has all Chelsea fans jabbering about the potential of the current team, and that in itself creates its own pressures as victories become almost demanded rather than hoped for. No longer is this campaign about challenging for the Premier League title until the final whistle on the final day, it is now solely -- at least domestically speaking -- about winning it. A run of 11 league games unbeaten while traditional rivals have been struggling has seen some, including Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger, all but crown Chelsea as champions, despite English top flight history being littered by teams that have thrown away excellent starts, or capitulated from seemingly unassailable positions. For all the plaudits that they are rightfully receiving, the Blues are presently only four points clear at the top of the table. A nice buffer, admittedly, though they are hardly running away with it thanks to Southamptons equally impressive campaign to date. The only thing for manager Jose Mourinho and his squad to do is to just keep on winning and accumulating points and carrying that form through the congested Christmas period where Chelsea have traditionally been less than profitable. With the fixture list never relenting, the manager will therefore be delighted to have virtually a clean bill of health following the international break. Cesc Fabregas is perhaps the greatest concern having played through the pain barrier during the 2-1 win at Liverpool a fortnight ago that cost him his place in the Spain squad. The signals are that he will still be fit to play on Saturday against West Bromwich Albion, though there has been no official word on it as yet. Diego Costa was another to miss out on representing his country due to injury, but he is expected to be back in action this weekend. The only other worry is Andre Schurrle after he missed out on playing for Germany due to illness. The extended rest period should hopefully have cleared that up. Chelseas relative fortune is in stark contrast to others who have seen key players return injured. Manchester United have been particularly hard hit with their injury list ever-growing, while Liverpool have also seen Jordan Henderson and Mario Balotelli receive knocks. With both Arsenal and Manchester City having key players out of action, Chelsea are in almost a unique position of strength and it is one upon which they must capitalise. Injuries are one of the perils of the international break, though, just as damaging can be a loss of momentum. Thankfully, so far this season, Chelsea have shown no signs of fatigue or complacency following the two previous set of international fixtures. The 4-2 win over previously unbeaten Swansea City and the 2-1 victory against Crystal Palace in the raucous atmosphere of Selhurst Park were testaments to their professionalism. While they might not be the two toughest fixtures in the calendar, they each posed their own significant threat to Chelseas ambitions and both were dealt with comprehensively. On both those occasions Mourinho started the match with the strongest team available, which was unsurprising given the aforementioned challenges, but also because the Portuguese is not a huge fan of rotation. Against West Brom, however, Mourinho might have to think a little differently. A touch over 72 hours after the game concludes at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea will kick off their Champions League tie in Gelsenkirchen against Schalke in what has become an unnecessarily crucial game. Wasteful draws against the Germans at home and Maribor away have put the Blues in a position where they simply cannot afford to take their foot off the gas. They sit at the summit of Group G, but a defeat could result in losing that top spot and seeding in the knockout round to Schalke, assuming that the Bundesliga club win their final group game at Maribor. There is also still the possibility of Chelsea being eliminated altogether should they lose both their remaining games, though that would take a seismic reversal of form and fortune and does not bear thinking about at present. With much at stake next Tuesday night, the manager might be tempted to rest one or two of his players on Saturday with Fabregas potentially one of those to be asked to put their feet up and nurse his hamstring. Mourinho will probably employ his preferred approach of naming a strong side that can put themselves in a commanding position before withdrawing three of his most prominent players, however, the idea of juggling his resources will certainly be crossing his mind. Guarding against sending out a team containing too many changes will be his memories of last years fixture in which he came within a hair of losing his unbeaten home record as Chelsea manager. Only an extremely fortuitous penalty decision in stoppage time saved the Blues from a 2-1 defeat to the Baggies, who were managed at the time by Mourinhos former number two, Stamford Bridge legend Steve Clarke. The coaching staff might have changed at The Hawthorns since then but there will be no taking them lightly, especially given their recent bright form following a tricky start to the campaign. With West Brom boasting the highest scoring Englishman this season in Saido Berahino as well as the ever-inventive Stephane Sessegnon, the visitors will certainly carry a threat. But whether that will be enough to derail the Chelsea express remains to be seen. Complacency has been evident on a couple of occasions this campaign, though it is generally a rare sight in any Mourinho team. Focus on the job in hand and the points should be staying in West London. #PL
Posted on: Fri, 21 Nov 2014 13:30:53 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015