Latest Post :

Friday 3 April 2015

Chelsea will aim to turn on the style against Stoke, says Jamie Redknapp

 Hazard: Can help Chelsea re-discover the fluid football they played earlier this season, says Redknapp
Hazard: Can help Chelsea re-discover the fluid football they played earlier this season, says Redknapp

A six-point lead. A game in hand. Nine to play. For me, Chelsea will go on to win the title with the great advantage they've built up on their rivals.

However, Jose Mourinho will want to get the team back to the form they were displaying earlier this season, when they were playing with a real swagger. That freedom and fluidity has dropped a little in recent weeks.

That perhaps stems from the fact they haven't rotated as much as their rivals this season - only 13 Chelsea players have started more than five games in the Premier League. In contrast, Man City have started 19 players for more than five matches and Arsenal 18.

Hughes was rewarded with a new contract this week and I'm really pleased for him. He got a lot of blame for what happened when he was at QPR but he's a good manager and he's seized this chance to show what he can do. He's done a really good job.

Stoke are now playing well, scoring good goals and Hughes deserves a lot of credit for what he's done there.

Their passes are shorter this season, although they do still have Peter Crouch up front if they want to go long. They're not afraid to play percentage football and I've got no problem with that. It's about winning games and playing to the strengths you have - and in Crouch and Jonathan Walters, Stoke have got a powerful front two if they want to mix it up and use them.

Hard work

Chelsea had to work really hard up at Stoke to come away with a 2-0 win earlier this season and they'll have to do the same on Saturday Night Football. The hosts have to win their individual battles and then their quality players can make the difference.

No comments:

Post a Comment