The Blues boss has had it all his own way so far this season, but faces a tough call on Wednesday night…
Jose Mourinho has had a pretty relaxed start to the season. The Chelsea manager picked up his transfer targets early and sold David Luiz for big money to PSG in the summer.
His side are also unbeaten this term, and have been able to watch rivals Liverpool, Man Utd, Arsenal, Man City and Spurs all struggle in their own unique ways. But things may be about to get a bit tougher for the Portuguese manager, starting with tomorrow night’s game against Tottenham.
Diego Costa picked up his 5th booking of the season against Sunderland on Saturday, when he could, and probably should have been sent off. This means the Brazilian is suspended for the clash against Spurs, and Mourinho will have to make the call between Didier Drogba and Loic Remy to start up front at the Bridge.
But which striker will Jose go for, and why? We investigate below.
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Candidate 1: Loic Remy
Loic Remy has shown in his spells at QPR and Newcastle that he has all the skills necessary to be a good Premier League striker. He’s quick and direct, but also has great technical ability, as we’ve seen from some of the stunning goals he’s scored in the last few seasons.
Remy has only started once for Chelsea in the league, playing 90 minutes against Crystal Palace to little effect. It was a strange game, with both sides down to 10 before half time, but Remy still failed to impress.
Remy is a great threat on the counter, but the Tottenham game will probably be much like that Crystal Palace game; with the opposition sitting deep and denying the Frenchman any space in behind to run into.
Candidate 2: Didier Drogba
The Chelsea legend got a goal and an assist in Chelsea’s demolition of Schalke last week, despite only appearing as a late sub. His form and fitness has picked up as the season has gone on, but he’s still not an ideal Costa replacement.
It was the home leg of that Schalke fixture, back in September, which was Drogba’s first start this season. The Ivorian looked leggy and the team were not used to playing with him. The likes of Cesc Fabregas and Filipe Luis kept looking to play a quick pass into space, as they would with Costa, but Drogba was not running beyond the defence, instead looking for balls into his feet or chest.
Conclusions:
Essentially neither of Jose Mourinho’s options are entirely satisfactory, as first choice Costa combines both the speed and finishing ability of Remy with the strength and aerial prowess of Drogba. Whichever replacement Chelsea choose, they will have to play a different way to accommodate the strengths and weaknesses of the stand-in.
If we had to guess, we should suggest that Mourinho will give Drogba the nod from the start. The Ivorian has played in plenty of London derbies before, and will relish the battle against Spurs’ less than confident defenders. If things don’t work out, Remy will come on later in the game to stretch the tired legs of the Tottenham players.