It’s back folks; Premier League football has returned to our plasma screens and what a better world it is with the Beautiful Game on our screens.
At the time of writing, Chelsea fans were looking ahead to this evening’s opening day fixture with Swansea City with relish, boasting the best gameweek one record in Premier League history with Manchester United and Arsenal making up the top three.
In many ways, this mini hierarchy couldn’t be too far away from what the final Premier League standings look like in May with the bookmakers still fancying Jose Mourinho’s side to enjoy two title triumphs in just three seasons under the returning boss.
Rather strangely by their standards, the Blues have failed to win a pre-season fixture inside 90 minutes this summer and more recently, Chelsea have been played at their own game in going down 1-0 on two separate occasions against both Arsenal in the Community Shield and Fiorentina in the International Champions Cup on Wednesday evening.
Chelsea fans are of course claiming it’s pre-season and means nothing and if they’ve already smashed Swansea City by this point this evening, all of that will of course prove irrelevant.
But with the opening day just representing one thirty eighth of the entire competition, just what is Jose Mourinho’s strongest starting eleven with everybody fit?
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Click on the image below to reveal the best Chelsea XI Jose Mourinho can field this season.
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Thibaut Courtois
Asmir Begovic has of course been brought in as Petr Cech’s replacement and somebody to challenge Thibaut Courtois for the number one jersey but nobody is expecting him to get ahead of the Belgian in the pecking order this term.
Courtois is right up there as one of the best goalkeepers in world football alongside Manuel Neuer and David De Gea and the best thing about him is that he boasts the kind of arrogant swagger that he won’t be beaten.
A man mountain standing at 6 ft 7 in, Chelsea’s defence is in good hands when the former Atletico Madrid loanee is between the sticks.
Branislav Ivanovic
Branislav Ivanovic rarely lets Chelsea down throughout the duration of a campaign.
We’ve become accustomed to the Serbian international being extremely consistent for Chelsea in years gone by and the 31-year-old has plenty of life still in him.
Not only a fantastic defender who is also capable of filling in at centre back, Ivanovic is best suited at right back where he can bomb on down the flank to support attacks.
Also a threat from corners with his aerial ability, Ivanovic must be a dream player to manage for Jose Mourinho.
Gary Cahill
Perhaps Gary Cahill should be worried that Chelsea are so intent on landing John Stones from Everton this summer but we think that the Toffees man is really being lined up as John Terry’s long-term successor instead.
That said, given Stones’ potential as we’ve seen over the last two seasons, if he does sign, he could threaten Cahill’s place in Chelsea’s starting eleven.
Making the odd error, Cahill is one of the most underrated players in the Chelsea team and has been part of Blues squads that have won all there is to win at club level.
John Terry
They call him their captain, leader and legend at Stamford Bridge and in 2015, John Terry is still giving absolutely everything to the Blues.
Enjoying arguably the best season of his career form-wise last term, Terry just keeps on going despite now being 34-years-old.
Written off by Rafael Benitez of course, Terry has come back to answer the critics in fantastic style.
Also a major threat from corners like Ivanovic, Terry isn’t heading for retirement any time soon.
Cesar Azpilicueta
Make no mistake, Cesar Azpilicueta is one of the indispensable players in this Chelsea team, so much so that Jose Mourinho claimed they have the best left back in England during pre-season.
In truth, the Spaniard struggled in the Community Shield against Arsenal but usually, he is a dependable member of this Blues squad.
With Filipe Luis returning to Atletico Madrid this summer, Chelsea desperately need to source a replacement as Azpilicueta’s understudy,
Everything points towards Ghanaian international left back Baba Rahman being that man but alternatively, Galatasaray’s Alex Telles is also reportedly being lined up.
Nemanja Matic
Referred to not as the ‘Makelele role’ but rather the ‘Matic role’ nowadays, that fact alone shows how successful Chelsea’s Nemanja Matic has been in the defensive midfield position.
Leaving to Benfica a boy and returning a man, Matic is a domineering presence in midfield, breaking up opposition attacks while feeding the attacking players ahead of him.
The perfect compliment to Cesc Fabregas in the middle of the park, it’s a simple case of carry on where you left off for Matic in the eyes of Chelsea fans.
Cesc Fabregas
With Chelsea fans now having forgot about his previous Arsenal connections, Cesc Fabregas is now most definitely a Blue.
Winning his very first Premier League title last term, the Spaniard showcased what he’d bring to this Chelsea team in his very first outing against Burnley, producing the assist of last season to the now departed Andre Schurrle.
A pass master, Fabregas has revolutionised Chelsea’s midfield and the partnership he enjoyed in the early part of last season with Diego Costa was simply frightening.
Willian
With Juan Cuadrado trying his best to flop since arriving from Fiorentina in January, we don’t think Willian will be losing too much sleep on the right wing.
The Brazilian international is one of Mourinho’s most trusted players in respect of buying into his system of hard work and discipline, tracking back as well as fulfilling his attacking duties to boot.
While his final ball could do with some work, Willian is one of the cogs that keeps this Chelsea machine ticking over and could be described as one of the Blues’ most underrated players.
Oscar
He didn’t enjoy a vintage season in a Chelsea shirt last term but most Blues fans are still more than willing to throw Oscar into their best eleven given how good he can be on his day.
One of the players brought into Stamford Bridge to revolutionise their playing style, Oscar was formidable in his first season at the club and combines goalscoring with assisting abilities.
He didn’t score so many last term with the Brazilian hoping to register far more strikes this time around.
Eden Hazard
Eden Hazard is the go-to guy in sparking Chelsea attacks which the Blues rely on week to week in the Premier League.
While they boast many other world class players of course, Hazard is still the main man and the one capable of magicking up a piece of brilliance out of nowhere.
Sometimes looking as if he’s parallel with the floor, such is his pace when turning defenders, the Belgian international was crowned PFA Player of the Year last term and is only set to get better given he is still just 24-years-of-age.
Diego Costa
An absolute bully of a forward, Costa is clinical in front of goal while also trying his best to get inside the heads of opposition defenders along the way too.
Playing on the edge, Costa can sometimes prove a liability but if you were to take these street-fighter like abilities away from the forward, he’d only be half the devastating player he is nowadays.
During the latter part of pre-season, Chelsea struggled without Costa as the focal point up top and while Loic Remy and Radamel Falcao are capable strikers in their own right, they are not the Spanish international and some Blues fans are wondering whether the club should go in for the likes of QPR’s Charlie Austin as extra striking support.
