Chelsea have defied the odds all the way to the Champions League final and will have to do so again by beating Bayern Munich in their backyard. As the clock counts down towards kick-off the nerves are increasing, but which Chelsea XI should Roberto Di Matteo field to win the jewel of European club football?
John Terry, Ramires, Branislav Ivanovic and Raul Meireles will all be sitting this one out as they’re suspended, so I imagine Di Matteo has done a lot more head scratching than he usually would when it comes to team selection. I think Ramires will be the biggest miss as his pace could exploit their fullbacks, but let’s hope the man who replaces him can do the job.
The team I’d pick:
P. Cech
J. Bosingwa – G. Cahill – D. Luiz – A. Cole
J. Mikel – F. Lampard (c)
M. Essien – J. Mata – S. Kalou
D. Drogba
The goalkeeper and back four pick themselves, but it’s the midfield and attack that is the hardest to call.
Didier Drogba is our main dangerman and could cause all sorts of trouble for Jerome Boateng and Anatoliy Tymoshchuk. Juan Mata is also one of our biggest weapons and should be played behind Drogba in the number 10 role to get the best from him.
Many of you may be unsure of my inclusion of Michael Essien on the right, where Ramires would normally be, but there’s a reason I’ve put him in there. Ok, so we all know he’s not the player he was after his many injury problems but he has a big game in him. I was going to opt for Fernando Torres to play on that side as he could tie Diego Contento (makes Jose Bosingwa look competent) in knots and someone will Daniel Sturridge’s or Salomon Kalou’s pace could cause his problems also. However, Bosingwa will need a helping hand when it comes to defending against Franck Ribery and Essien could be the best man for the job.
With Florent Malouda a slight injury doubt, I would start Kalou on the left as Philip Lahm, as good as he is, leaves a lot of space in behind him which is something we could exploit. At the very least having a player with Kalou’s pace there could help pin him back and make it more difficult for him to support Arjen Robben, who along with Ribery is Bayern’s main threat.
Who would be in your Chelsea XI in tonight’s Champions League final v Bayern Munich?
Cech
Bos. Cahil. Luiz. Cole
Mikel. Lamps.
Kalou. Mata. Ryan
Drogba
Cech bosingwa cahil luiz cole mikel lampard esien mata kalou Drogba. May God help us. Amen
In my own opinion i feel we shud go for bosingwa luiz cahill & cole in d defence while mikel lampard essien and Mata shud form d mid field while d attacking options shud b drogba & torres
Cech
Bosingwa—Cahill—Luiz—Cole
———Mikel—Lampard——-
Kalou——-Mata——-Bertrand
-Drogba-
Bertrand and Cole to stop Robben, Kalou and Bosingwa to stop Ribery.
4-4-1-1 to give our full backs plenty of help against robben & ribery ,my starting x1 cech , bosingwa cahill luiz cole , kalou mikel lampard malouda , mata , drogba , subs torres & sturridge 🙂 but it wouldnt surprise me if sturridge started on the right wing to test contento if he plays lb for bayern , cant wait til were crowned kings of europe 🙂 up blues !
Cheh
Bos Luiz Cahil Cole
Kalou Mikel Lampard
Mata
Torres Drogba
Have to take advantage of their weak diffence. Can’t only sit.
Cech bosingwa luiz cahill lampard mikel essien toress didier mata
Cech
bosi cahil luiz a.cole
mikel lampard(c)
essien j.mata betrand
D.drogba