2011-12 UEFA CL: Chelsea are European Champions

[5DOM]

It's true that we have been doing much better since AVB was sacked, but for the longest time Chelsea's also been very inconsistent - playing up/down to competition. I think all 5 clubs currently above us have shown over 37-38 games that they are the better sides (or at least the more consistent side).

[AdamTheGreek]

I've thought Bayern would be crowned champs at the start of the knockout stage and will stick with them. Should be a very fun match.

[lukekarts]

Problem is we're old. Drogba, Lampard, Terry - the spine of the team, have been there, done that... like you say, we play up / down to the competition, and I think it's because these guys don't have the legs they used to, that you see them exert more effort for the bigger games.

On our day, we can beat anyone; but it's not like when we had Mourinho and we would beat everyone.

I'm still very sceptical of our chances in Munich though. I don't like the fact that we're without Ramires; and we're gona be playing two centre-backs who are slightly lacking full game fitness (and to be fair probably don't have great chemistry yet). But we'll see - anything can happen.

[Foye]

Problem is we're old. Drogba, Lampard, Terry - the spine of the team, have been there, done that... like you say, we play up / down to the competition, and I think it's because these guys don't have the legs they used to, that you see them exert more effort for the bigger games.

On our day, we can beat anyone; but it's not like when we had Mourinho and we would beat everyone.

I'm still very sceptical of our chances in Munich though. I don't like the fact that we're without Ramires; and we're gona be playing two centre-backs who are slightly lacking full game fitness (and to be fair probably don't have great chemistry yet). But we'll see - anything can happen.

I'm very sceptical about Munich's chances vs. Chelsea.

If my name was Di Matteo - it's a pretty easy task forming a squad that can put Munich in trouble.

--------------Cech------------
Bosingwa-Luiz-Cahill-Cole
---------Mikel----Essien-----
---Mata--Lampard---------
----Torres-----Drogba-----

Ribery will give Bosingwa definitely some trouble, though.
Luiz and Cahill vs. Gomez. They have the physicality to keep Gomez in check. If they remain mentally aware all game long they should be fine even though they just return from injury.
If Munich is in attack Lampard goes back into the defensive midfield and Essien helps Cole to keep Robben in check.

On attack I would leave Chelsea's left side relatively empty. Drogba can look to trouble Lahm a bit but it wouldn't be one of my main priorities. Priorities are keeping Contento and Tymo busy. Contento is young and not the best defender. Mata should be able to tear him apart if he has a good day.
Mata is the key here because crosses are going to be very important for Chelsea. With Torres and Drogba you have two strikers that are very physical. They're going to trouble Boateng and Tymo a lot. Boateng is a good defender but usually has some positional errors in most games. Tymo is the very weak part. He's a defensive midfielder who simply isn't a center back.
Pressure Contento and Tymo all game long and you're going to see results.

Expect Schweinsteiger and Kroos to dominate the midfield vs. Lampard, Essien and Mikel. As long as they close the passing lanes in the middle and help to double Ribery and/or Robben on the wings it shouldn't be a problem.

That said, chances are 50:50, IMO. I would favour Munich if all banned players from both teams were available but Contento and Tymo are a huge dropoff from Badstuber and Alaba. Them missing Luiz Gustavo is huge, too, because he usually destroys the opposing flow of the game.
Hopefully, Heynckes will play Rafinha at right back and Lahm at left back. The chance seems less than 10%, though, considering Heynckes doesn't like Rafinha.

I expect a game that is dominated by Bayern Munich but won by Chelsea with Drogba and Torres each scoring once. Robben with the goal for Munich.
And I wouldn't worry about Drogba's age. You know he's going to be all over the field again. Playing wing back, defensive midfielder and striker at the same time if needed like against Barca. Dude wants this cup.

That said, I hope my prediction is wrong.

I think Munich is a team that suits Chelsea's team very well.

[5DOM]

Lamps and Mikel have been outstanding lately, so I am not really worried about those two, but Essien will have to turn back the time. With that horror performance today, I kinda expect Sturridge or Malouda to start by default.

And I am very positive Kalou will start. Offensively, he's as inconsistent as one can get, but he's usually solid defensively. Bosingwa and Kalou play well when you least expect them to, so hopefully they can continue that pattern for just one more game.

My prediction for Chelsea XI:

Cech
Bosingwa-Cahill-Luiz-Cole
Mikel-Lamps
Sturridge-Mata-Kalou
Drogba

[Foye]

I would play with two strikers to put more pressure on Munich's shaky defense.

[lukekarts]

We don't play well with two strikers, we need the width, but with Sturridge cutting inside we should be ok.

[Mirjalovic]

I would play with two strikers to put more pressure on Munich's shaky defense.

Sturridge is a striker.

[5DOM]

We don't play well with two strikers, we need the width, but with Sturridge cutting inside we should be ok.

I'm not too sure if we don't play well with two strikers. The problem is we only play with two strikers when we are playing terribly. That said, I can't imagine Di Matteo experimenting with lineups in CL Final

[fatlever]

rdm hasnt shown us yet that he is willing change from his 4-2-3-1 formation. he'll change personnel tactics to fit an opponent, but he doesnt seem willing to change that base formation. i'd be shocked if we dont see this formation to start.

questions really only are about who plays in what spots in the formation. my best guess would be

boz cahill luiz cole
---mikel---lamps----
kalou--mata--studge
--------drogba--------

however, if i was picking the team i'd change that front 4, moving kalou to left, torres to right and sturridge to bench. but the best available 11 on the field and go down swinging. torres > sturridge, he is better defender and better crosser and better hold up and in better form.

torres--mata--kalou
---------drogba-------

[Foye]

I would play with two strikers to put more pressure on Munich's shaky defense.

Sturridge is a striker.

I should've been more precise. He's a winger. Not a 9.

[J-Mezzy]

So Drogba will get the start no?

[Point forward]

After the 2-5 drubbing of Bayern vs Dortmund, I can safely say that Chelsea is the favorite. The Bayern defense cannot even stop toddlers from getting off open shots. If you double and triple team Ribery and Robben, Bayern is done - astonishingly, the rest of the team cannot make use of this freedom.

[Kahn_2001]

I'm not worried, Munich can't possibly play any worse defense than that. Dortmund just has our number this year and they played a perfect match. Chelsea's defense isn't nearly as good as Dortmund's and Robbry will have a field day tearing them a new one.

[lukekarts]

David Luiz & Gary Cahill have both been declared fit, which is great news.

I'm pretty confident Ashley Cole will be able to keep one of Robben / Ribery quiet; the real problem comes down the left flank (Chelsea's right) because Bosingwa gets caught out too often.

I think we need to channel the ball through to Drogba and keep him working Bayern's defence, which on paper is worse than ours. We need Mata to have a big game.

[5DOM]

Bosingwa's above average defensively at 1-on-1 situations but the problem is he's too often out of his position. That's why I really want us to keep playing defensively. It's when teams invite Bosingwa to attack that our defense collapses. Also I can see Cech-long-balls-to-Drogba working nicely against Bayern CB's.

[Point forward]

I can see Cech-long-balls-to-Drogba working nicely against Bayern CB's.

I can see Boateng/Tymoshuk struggling to cover Drogba. Tymo is a natural DM who lacks toughness, and Boateng has incredible mental gaps in his game. Strikers who gamble on his mistakes are too often rewarded.

[fatlever]

thoughts on seeing bertrand possibly getting some minutes at left mid in this game? chelsea must shut down the wings, obviously. bertrand got some minutes this weekend at left mid. he is quick and is a decent crosser. this would allow kalou to play on the right and drop back to help bosingwa deal with his side. i think i prefer that lineup over having sturridge out there. sturridge is useless on the left attacking and you cant put him on the right with boswingwa behind him. those two would get roasted.

[5DOM]

It makes sense defensively on paper, but it's still too much of a gamble to play an inexperienced player out of position in the biggest match in club history. And we need players who can finish on the wings. They are gonna get their chances with Drogba winning the balls for them.

[Point forward]

Jupp Heynckes has just officially released the Bayern starting 11!!

---------------------------------------------- Neuer -------------------------------------------------

Lahm ------------- Boateng --------------------------- Tymoshchuk ------------------- Contento

-------------------------------- Schweinsteiger --------- Kroos -------------------------------

Robben -------------------------------- Müller --------------------------------------- Ribery

------------------------------------------- Gomez ---------------------------------------------------

This is the more offensive lineup with Müller. As expected, neither van Buyten is physically nor Breno is mentally fit enough to play. The one big surprise is Contento over Pranjic or Rafinha. I hope Contento has an ok game (everything more would be bonus) and that Boateng wins the header duels vs Drogba - Tymo won't give you that, he is a playing DM helping out as CB. Other than that, I think the team which makes less mistakes will win.