Chelsea vs Man United preview

This Sunday there's a very big game for both the clubs involved. Its Chelsea and United. Its one of the biggest games in English football and I'm nervous for it. The first meeting between these to teams this season ended in a nil-all draw with the two keepers playing excellently. We could've won it but Matic missed a great chance after a counter-attack. All day Martial gave Ivanovic a horrible time because he just couldn't compete with the Frenchman's pace. Because of this I'm hoping that Hiddink will play Azpilcueta right-back and Baba Rahman on the left. Azpi is a lot better equipped to deal with Martial's pace and quick feet. Costa has looked a threat since Hiddink has taken charge so he should be able to give United's defence something to think about, especially with Smalling injured. Because of Terry's announcement that he won't be renewing his contract I reckon that he will give everything against United as it will probably be last ever game against one of our main rivals. Terry and Zouma have formed a good partnership at the back and I reckon that the match will finish 3-1 to Chelsea.

MK Dons and JT's Announcement

On 31st of January Chelsea took on Milton Keynes Dons away from home in the fourth round of the FA Cup. I was slightly nervous as away games are always tough and the FA Cup is a competition where anything can happen. We got off to a good start after Oscar slotted home in the 15th minute. However six minutes later MK Dons equalised. Oscar got two more which completed a first-half hat-trick for the Brazilian playmaker. Chelsea were amazing in the second half and didn't give MK Dons a sniff. Hazard finally got his first goal of the season and his fiftieth Chelsea goal in total. The happiness in his face was evident and he kissed the crest, showing his loyalty to us. Bertrand Traore got the fifth after coming on just five minutes earlier. A great day for Chelsea and probably our best performance under Hiddink so far. However there was a negative to the day as well when John Terry announced that he will not be renewing his contract at the end of the year. I feel like the club should do everything in their power to keep JT at the club at least another, as without him there are not many leaders in the Chelsea team. I would say Ivanovic and Cahill are the only other natural leaders and they both may not be starting next season. Because of this I can see Fabregas being given the captaincy as he was captain as Arsenal when he was only nineteen years old.

Chelsea Transfer News

There has been a few players returning from loan and also Chelsea have been active in the transfer window, and hopefully there will be a few new faces before the transfer deadline. Chelsea's main bit of business has been loaning in Brazilian striker Alexandre Pato until the end of the season. Pato has not played a competitive match since November. Personally I do not think this has been a good deal for us, but thankfully it is only a loan. Hopefully he will prove me wrong. Chelsea are set to sign defender Matt Miazga from New York Red Bulls. The 20-year-old will not need a work permit because he has a Polish passport. The fee is rumoured to be around the £3.5 million mark. I think Miazga is a decent acquisition but he will need a couple of seasons out on loan to reach the level of his possible centreback partner, who is also twenty and is one the most promising players in world football. Brazilian fullback Wallace has returned from loan from Sutch club Vitesse Arnheim and I would expect him to be loaned out again. Christian Atsu has returned from Bournemouth after making just a couple appearances and has immediately been loaned to Spanish club Malaga. Hopefully he will improve as he is still only 22. Papy Djilibodji, who has been awful so far and has only made one two-minute appearance against Millwall and didn't even touch the ball is being loaned out to Werder Bremen until the end the of the season. Hopefully he will improve.

Game of the Season

     I was at Chelsea's most recent game - a 3-3 draw at home to Everton and what a game it was. After a boring first half which ended 0-0, both teams sprung to life in the second half. Everton were 2-0 up just ten minutes into the second half, but Chelsea showed amazing character and motivation to get themselves back into the game. Two goals in three minutes made it 2-2. My seat in the Matthew Harding Stand meant that all the Chelsea goals were right in front of me. All the momentum was with us until Everton's Costa Rican right back Bryan Oviedo, went down injured for around six minutes. Reports suggest that Oviedo's injury was not as bad as he made it out to be and he did it to waste time and to stop Chelsea's momentum. After that it was anyone's game. There were chances at both ends, but it was Everton's substitute, Ramiro Funes Mori, from Argentina, who scored in the 90th minute! I was extremely disappointed and just wanted the game to end at that stage. Seven minutes were added on for the numerous stoppages, including Oviedo's injury. At this point Chelsea had everyone forward and were just lumping the ball forward and hoping for the best. I knew it was not going to be our day... With the added seven minutes up, Azpilcueta hit it up towards the Everton box, Zouma won the initial header, Ivanovic won the second and the Oscar who only stands 5'9" vitally flicked the ball on to the CAPTAIN JOHN TERRY WHO BACKHEELED THE BALL INTO THE GOAL!!!!!!!!!!!!! An unbelievable finish from a 35 year old centerback! The atmosphere was electric and Terry ensured that we remain unbeaten under Guus Hiddink.
     Skip to 6.13 in the linked video to see the best goal ever scored for Chelsea Football Club. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed as much as I did.

Chelsea vs Everton Pre-match

As of the time of writing this, I will be travelling to Stamford Bridge tomorrow, which is the 16th January. Chelsea are playing Everton. It'll be a tough game for Chelsea with Lukaku, Everton's Belgian striker, coming back to play against his old team. At only 23 years old, Lukaku is the highest ever scoring Belgian striker to play in the Premier League.
My seat in the stadium is in the Upper Matthew Harding Stand which is in the opposite end of the Birdge to the famous Shed End. Chelsea's defense has been solid in recent weeks but could still do with another centreback, perhaps John Stones or Raphael Varane, who play for Everton and Real Madrid respectively. Chelsea may be without the Premier League's 2014/15 season Player of the Season as he may be injured. Although Hazard has not had the same form as he did last season, he still is a key player for us. I reckon it will definitely be a close game with Everton scoring freely and Chelsea with their solid defense. I predict Chelsea to win 2-1.

First Chelsea Blog

Hello my name is Zach Doran. I will be blogging about Chelsea FC and the events happening at the club. Recently Chelsea's manager José Mourinho was sacked. This was his second spell at the Bridge. He has been succeeded by Guus Hiddink, who took charge around 4 weeks ago. This is also Hiddink's second time as interim manager of Chelsea. This means that he will only be at the club until the end of the 2015/16 season. Six games after Hiddink has taken charge, Chelsea remain undefeated, with 3 wins and 3 draws, although some may feel that Chelsea should've gotten three points against Watford and West Brom.