Jose Mourinho has had the luxury of facing two premier league newcomers in Chelsea’s first two premier league fixtures. After a brief scare against Burnley, the Blues have gone on to dominate both games, winning comfortably in the end.
To make matters even better for Mourinho, he saw his team draw by far the easiest group of any English team in the Champions League yesterday. This weekend Chelsea will face their first real test of the season when they travel to Goodison Park and face Everton.
The two blue-clad clubs dueled to offsetting 1-0 home wins last season, leaving no doubt that tomorrows fixture will be hotly contested. Everton have a pair of Chelsea strikers facing fitness battles before the weekend, but anyone who claims Samuel Eto’o isn’t out for revenge to some degree is kidding themselves.
Eto’o, the ever confident Cameroonian who recently retired from international duty after 56 goals in 118 appearances, will have his former manager's comments about the strikers age in the back of his mind. However, he has been with the team for less than a week, and his inclusion will likely be limited to a substitute appearance should he be available.
Regardless of Eto’o’s fitness status, Romelu Lukaku will lead the line for the Toffees. A year ago, Lukaku declared that he would score more goals in the premier league for Everton than any Chelsea strikers while on loan. He came through on his promise, netting 15 goals and eventually earning a permanent contract with Everton.
Lukaku will show the determination to prove himself under the watchful eye of Jose Mourinho, who sold the Belgian earlier in the summer. Ross Barkley is still sidelined with injury, as are Steven Pienaar and Bryan Oviedo. Roberto Martinez still has plenty of quality players at his disposal however.
The midfield duo of Gareth Barry and James McCarthy has been excellent in the past year, while fullbacks Seamus Coleman and Leighton Baines are a mainstay on either flank. John Stones could deputize anywhere along the back line should Martinez need a late replacement. Muhamed Besic has yet to make his first premier league start, so I wouldn't rule out Martinez sending him out there in front of the holding pair of Barry and McCarthy with confidence.
Chelsea will have their hands full going into a hostile environment, but will have a full squad to choose from. Diego Costa had a brief injury scare midweek, but has passed a fitness evaluation this afternoon and will likely lead the Chelsea line.
Mourinho has fielded an attacking lineup in the two previous matches, but could opt for a more defensive starting XI and deploy the tireless Ramires next to Nemanja Matic in the middle.
This would mean either Oscar or Cesc Fabregas would be sacrificed to the bench, something Mourinho is not afraid to do in big games away from home. Ramires could also feature on one of the wings, since defending the flanks is never easy against Everton. Whoever Mourinho selects on either wing must have a tactical understanding and help out against the marauding Coleman and Baines.
As they did last weekend against Arsenal, Everton will likely come out aggressively. However, Mourinho will not allow his team to go down 2-0 as Arsene Wenger did. He has to be wary of how dangerous Everton can be when the run of play favors them and at times will be forced to play behind the ball.
For Everton, it is imperative that lessons be learned from last weekend’s result against the Gunners. For 75 minutes, Everton defended excellently and took their chances extremely well. They took advantage of a sluggish Mertesacker and a weak defensive midfield, but must know the team they face tomorrow will be tougher and more organized.
If Everton grab the lead, they mustn’t so deep in the dying moments as they did against Arsenal and allow Chelsea to mount a comeback. Chelsea will probably play relatively simple and compact for the first portion of the game and Jose Mourinho will adjust as he always does.
If Mourinho can sustain a defensive presence and assess how to improve the squad he has on the pitch at halftime, Chelsea could sneak away with a win. However, the big game mentality that Roberto Martinez instills in his players will reign supreme over Mourinho’s methods. I’m predicting Everton to snatch their first win of the season in what is sure to be a heavyweight duel, 1-0.
No comments:
Post a Comment