guys against APOEL FC which players do u guys think, carlo should give 1st team line-up??

for me i preferred as below line-up:

(4-1-2-1-2)

                              cech

bosingwa   carvalho   terry  zhirkov(a.cole doubt)

                              essien

   j.cole                                          malouda

                            lampard

                    anelka         drogba

subs: ballack, belleti, mikel, borini, ivanovic & hilario.

hope they grind out good result 

Chelsea have left Michael Ballack and John Mikel Obi behind as they travelled to Cyprus for their Champions League clash with APOEL Nicosia. Mikel is struggling with an ankle problem while Germany captain Ballack misses out with a calf strain.

But Ashley Cole, forced out of their 3-1 defeat by Wigan Athletic on Saturday with an ankle injury, did make the flight as did Portugal midfielder Deco and England midfielder Joe Cole, who missed Saturday's match with a cold.

Meanwhile, striker Didier Drogba, who is suspended for Wednesday night's game in Group D, described their defeat at Wigan as the worst performance in his five years at the club.

And the Ivory Coast international told his team-mates they must improve if they are to win the Premier League title. The defeat was Chelsea's first of the season and ended an unbeaten run stretching back over 23 games.

Drogba scored his 100th goal for the Blues when he levelled just after the break, but they fell apart when goalkeeper Petr Cech was red-carded for a professional foul.

It allowed Manchester United to reclaim top spot following their win over Stoke.

Cech complained bitterly that he should not have been shown the red card but Drogba said the incident had little bearing on the outcome.

"We didn't play very well," said Drogba. "We lost all the battles, all the duels. We didn't win anything, we were poor. This is the worst game I have played in since I have been at Chelsea. We need to think about it, correct what was wrong and try to go again.

"We equalised just after half-time and we were trying to improve our game but then there was the penalty and red card which I think was a bit harsh. Still with 10 players, we had the chance to make it 2-2, but we didn't do it. There was a lot of space and they used the pitch very well, they deserved to win."

i'm aware that zhirkov has played LB for russia in international games, but do you think he's as good as Ashley, defensively? does he backtrack when the team loses possesion? i always see him more as an attacking player

are we suddenly ravaged by a growing injury list? oh my..deja vu

Against APOEL FC  line-up:

(4-1-2-1-2)

                    cech

belleti   carvalho   terry   zhirkov

                    essien

     j.cole                    malouda

                    lampard

              Anelka    Kalou

subs: Hutchinson, Ferreira, Borini, Deco, Ivanovic & Hilario.

i wonder why CA like mikel so much..
he prefer mikel over essien..
Essien this season seems like not playing a big part in the team...

I think essien is playing more than mikel. Our diamond consists of malouda, essien, ballack and lampard. Mikel is a back up but he plays a vital part for the team too...when one of them is unavailable/rested/not fit..mikel will step in and take his role.

Mikel is young has a very good potential especially when ballack is not playing for us anymore.

Yep he is young but he does not control the ball well at times and since he is a defensive midfielder once he lost the ball,with Ashely and bosingwa up front,it can cause havoc in defense.

Essien is able to play both defensive and offensively(he is a box-to-box midfielder). When mikel and essien play together, essien will get the chance to attack more(either left or right diamond). Ballack influences the team quite a lot, but when ballack is playing essien will become more defensive i believe.

another one of our loanees who's beginning to find his feet is franco di santooooooo! pressured a villa defender well, that lead to samba's goal, and attempted an outrageous bicycle kick that was definitely heading on target, but unfortunately stopped by richard dunne's hand. the result was a penalty of course! dunn duly converted and it was the 89th minute. great win for blackburn. well done franco! 

I agree that ballack did well this season. Even during our community shield against manu. It would be nice to have him back against pool...Do you think we will stay with diamond this weekend?

Drogba and Bos are banned....   Ballack and Mikel with injuries

thx for the update bro..kinda missed both of them bosg & drog..

Essien or Mikel also not playing well this year, Ballack are better than them.

When we play against fast team, CA will use Essien, and when we play against very strong and physical with alot of crosses team CA will play Mikel.

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Added on September 29, 2009, 3:57 pm

But Mancienne doesn't look good.

Yep he is young but he does not control the ball well at times and since he is a defensive midfielder once he lost the ball,with Ashely and bosingwa up front,it can cause havoc in defense.

I think essien is playing more than mikel. Our diamond consists of malouda, essien, ballack and lampard. Mikel is a back up but he plays a vital part for the team too...when one of them is unavailable/rested/not fit..mikel will step in and take his role.

Mikel is young has a very good potential especially when ballack is not playing for us anymore.