John Terry and Diego Costa are expected to be sidelined against Maccabi Tel-Aviv. Is this the right move?
Whether it’s to keep his stars rested for the weekend slobberknocker against Arsenal or part of a more permanent arrangement, Jose Mourinho has decided to make a major lineup change for Chelsea’s Champions League bout with Maccabi Tel-Aviv on Wednesday.
According to Mail Online, four of Chelsea’s biggest stars – John Terry, Diego Costa, Branislav Ivanovic, Nemanja Matic – are set to be removed from the team’s starting XI in the Champions League opener at home.
Terry and Ivanovic would be replaced by Baba Rahman and Cesar Azpilicueta on the defense respectively. Matic would be replaced with Ruben Loftus-Cheek in the midfielder. As for Diego Costa, he would likely be replaced with Loic Remy, who had the first of a team-record six goals in a 6-0 Champions League win last year.
Mail Online also noted that Pedro could be replaced with Oscar on the starting XI. Radamel Falcao will be out because of an injury.
Terry, Ivanovic, Costa and Matic have all been underperforming in the Premier League this season as the team has lost three of its first five matches and fallen into an 11-point hole behind table leader Man City.
Jose Mourinho promised changes in order to create a different dynamic:
“I will make a couple of changes because I have to try a different dynamic,” the Special One said. “I have to try a couple of different faces and to give chances to people who have not been playing but have been working hard.”
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