Chelsea
Petr Cech
It’s impossible to overstate this guy’s importance. In the era of Cech, the phrase “no goalkeeper in the World would have saved that shot” should now be resigned to the past. Quite simply, Cech could save anything. Obviously he’s not infallible, and will occasionally concede the odd goal, but some of the saves we’ve seen from this man in the last two or three years have been World-class. I don’t think there’s a category above that, but there should be, purely for Cech. If he has a blinder tomorrow, Man Utd won’t score. Barring penalties, that’ll mean a Chelsea victory.
Ashley Cole
Extremely disappointing going forward for Chelsea this season, Cole has undoubtedly improved as a defender. After a shaky start positioning-wise, Cole seems to have matured in a blue shirt, and his roving forward-runs have been curtailed in favour of a more safety-first approach. This will surely work in Chelsea’s favour as he faces Ronaldo tomorrow. If anyone can claim to have the measure of United’s talisman, it may well be Ashley Cole. Blessed with enough pace not to let Ronaldo’s acceleration burn him away, Cole also seems to be aware – almost before Ronaldo is – of exactly where the Portuguese is going. Expect that to be to the floor, hard, within the first few minutes, Ashley likes to make his mark on a player early in a big game.
Joe Cole
Lots of candidates within the Chelsea midfield for someone who can have a huge bearing on the result tomorrow, but bearing in mind we don’t know whether Essien will be playing at the back, Joe Cole gets my vote. The only player in Chelsea’s squad with the real ability to make something out of nothing, Joe Cole on top form is as good a creative midfielder as there is in the Premiership. Pace, skill, delivery, vision – Cole has it all, combined with a great eye for goal. My tip for first goalscorer tomorrow, Cole will be charged with the task of creating opportunities for Drogba, whilst the rest of the Chelsea midfield muddy-up the waters for the likes of Scholes. If anyone in red will be tracking his forward runs from midfield it’s likely to be Michael Carrick, and Kaka will tell you that always gives you a chance. Cole will see lots of the ball tomorrow, Chelsea creating anything of note will rely largely on how well he uses it.
Didier Drogba
A defender’s worst nightmare. Just as comfortable holding the ball up for arriving midfielders as he is at taking on an entire back-four alone, Drogba can do just about anything you’d ask from a striker. Provided he stays on his feet long enough, he can cause United serious problems tomorrow. Great in the air or on the ground, his pace and physical presence could be decisive tomorrow. Questions remain about the consistency of his finishing, but the man really is a big-game player. If Chelsea do well tomorrow, expect Sunday’s headlines to be full of Drogba, they tend to play well as long as he does.
Prediction:
1-0 Chelsea. (Joe Cole)
Petr Cech
It’s impossible to overstate this guy’s importance. In the era of Cech, the phrase “no goalkeeper in the World would have saved that shot” should now be resigned to the past. Quite simply, Cech could save anything. Obviously he’s not infallible, and will occasionally concede the odd goal, but some of the saves we’ve seen from this man in the last two or three years have been World-class. I don’t think there’s a category above that, but there should be, purely for Cech. If he has a blinder tomorrow, Man Utd won’t score. Barring penalties, that’ll mean a Chelsea victory.
Ashley Cole
Extremely disappointing going forward for Chelsea this season, Cole has undoubtedly improved as a defender. After a shaky start positioning-wise, Cole seems to have matured in a blue shirt, and his roving forward-runs have been curtailed in favour of a more safety-first approach. This will surely work in Chelsea’s favour as he faces Ronaldo tomorrow. If anyone can claim to have the measure of United’s talisman, it may well be Ashley Cole. Blessed with enough pace not to let Ronaldo’s acceleration burn him away, Cole also seems to be aware – almost before Ronaldo is – of exactly where the Portuguese is going. Expect that to be to the floor, hard, within the first few minutes, Ashley likes to make his mark on a player early in a big game.
Joe Cole
Lots of candidates within the Chelsea midfield for someone who can have a huge bearing on the result tomorrow, but bearing in mind we don’t know whether Essien will be playing at the back, Joe Cole gets my vote. The only player in Chelsea’s squad with the real ability to make something out of nothing, Joe Cole on top form is as good a creative midfielder as there is in the Premiership. Pace, skill, delivery, vision – Cole has it all, combined with a great eye for goal. My tip for first goalscorer tomorrow, Cole will be charged with the task of creating opportunities for Drogba, whilst the rest of the Chelsea midfield muddy-up the waters for the likes of Scholes. If anyone in red will be tracking his forward runs from midfield it’s likely to be Michael Carrick, and Kaka will tell you that always gives you a chance. Cole will see lots of the ball tomorrow, Chelsea creating anything of note will rely largely on how well he uses it.
Didier Drogba
A defender’s worst nightmare. Just as comfortable holding the ball up for arriving midfielders as he is at taking on an entire back-four alone, Drogba can do just about anything you’d ask from a striker. Provided he stays on his feet long enough, he can cause United serious problems tomorrow. Great in the air or on the ground, his pace and physical presence could be decisive tomorrow. Questions remain about the consistency of his finishing, but the man really is a big-game player. If Chelsea do well tomorrow, expect Sunday’s headlines to be full of Drogba, they tend to play well as long as he does.
Prediction:
1-0 Chelsea. (Joe Cole)
I expect this one to be very tight, especially in midfield. But with United’s defence not fully fit I expect Drogba to be a real handful. Chelsea’s injury crisis will worry them, but a wounded Chelsea can be the most dangerous kind. They’ll be out for Premier League revenge tomorrow, and I think they might just get it.
2 comments:
well ur prediction was right rich but wrong scorer! and in extra time as well, it was a dull final though!
Absolutely fucking awful. But it just shows, even Man Utd look boring against Chelsea. You can either play 4-4-2 against them and accept that they'll boss the midfield - in which case you can play pretty but get beat - or you can play 4-5-1 to match them in the middle. That way you give yourself a chance to beat them, but it's going to be ugly. Alex Ferguson knows that, which is why he did that yesterday. Rafa Benitez does too. So why do the media (and to a certain extent the fans) expect beautiful champagne football in a big game against Chelsea? The whole way they line up is designed to stop good sides playing good football.
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