Chelsea will win a fourth Premier League title if they beat Crystal Palace at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
The Blues will be home and dry with three games to spare if victorious over the South London side, but Jose Mourinho has asked the home crowd not to celebrate early.
He has called on fans to be “ready to push” his side over the line as it will be “very difficult” against Crystal Palace.
A win, however, will equal Mourinho’s achievement in his first season of 2004/05, when he brought the Premier League to Stamford Bridge for the first time with three games to spare.
He may well have done it the ‘boring’ way, but they have scored the second most goals in the league and have the second best defensive record and deservedly sit well clear of Arsenal and Manchester City.
Furthermore, the Blues have impressively lost just three of their 50 matches in all competitions this season.
Diego Costa has again been ruled out with a hamstring injury, however fellow striker Loic Remy is back in contention with Thibaut Courtois returning from a hip problem.
Chelsea formation tactics
Goalkeeper
With Courtois back in contention look for him to start ahead of Petr Cech as Mourinho’s number one choice in goal.
Defence
Hardly unchanged all season, the back-four of Branislav Ivanovic, Gary Cahill, John Terry and César Azpilicueta will almost certainly start this game.
All have largely stayed away from injury, only missing nine Premier League games between them.
One who has played every league game this season is Terry, who is also level with David Unsworth as the top-scoring defender in Premier League history with 38 goals.
Midfield
Look for Mourinho to play his favoured five in the midfield for this game, with Namanja Matic and Ramires playing the holding roles.
Matic has been vitally important to how Chelsea like to play and was rightly in the PFA’s Team of the Year.
Another in the team of the year is Eden Hazard, who also won the PFA's Player of the Year.
The Belgian has scored 13 Premier League goals and completed eight assists this season and his recent performances have pushed Chelsea closer to the line when the rest of the team have been struggling.
Someone unlucky to miss out on an award this season is Cesc Fabregas, who has 17 assists this season – just three short of Thierry Henry’s Premier League record.
Look for Oscar to play in this game ahead of fellow Brazilian Willian, with Mourinho perhaps favouring a late burst from the latter if needs be.
Attack
With the club’s top scorer Costa out for at least another week, Mourinho looks set to keep faith in Didier Drogba.
The Ivorian scored in the win over Leicester on Wednesday and despite being 37-years-old, can still do a job at the top flight of English Football.
If Drogba were to get tired then Remy should be ready for a call up to the squad.
The Blues will be home and dry with three games to spare if victorious over the South London side, but Jose Mourinho has asked the home crowd not to celebrate early.
He has called on fans to be “ready to push” his side over the line as it will be “very difficult” against Crystal Palace.
A win, however, will equal Mourinho’s achievement in his first season of 2004/05, when he brought the Premier League to Stamford Bridge for the first time with three games to spare.
He may well have done it the ‘boring’ way, but they have scored the second most goals in the league and have the second best defensive record and deservedly sit well clear of Arsenal and Manchester City.
Furthermore, the Blues have impressively lost just three of their 50 matches in all competitions this season.
Diego Costa has again been ruled out with a hamstring injury, however fellow striker Loic Remy is back in contention with Thibaut Courtois returning from a hip problem.
Chelsea formation tactics
Goalkeeper
With Courtois back in contention look for him to start ahead of Petr Cech as Mourinho’s number one choice in goal.
Defence
Hardly unchanged all season, the back-four of Branislav Ivanovic, Gary Cahill, John Terry and César Azpilicueta will almost certainly start this game.
All have largely stayed away from injury, only missing nine Premier League games between them.
One who has played every league game this season is Terry, who is also level with David Unsworth as the top-scoring defender in Premier League history with 38 goals.
Midfield
Look for Mourinho to play his favoured five in the midfield for this game, with Namanja Matic and Ramires playing the holding roles.
Matic has been vitally important to how Chelsea like to play and was rightly in the PFA’s Team of the Year.
Another in the team of the year is Eden Hazard, who also won the PFA's Player of the Year.
The Belgian has scored 13 Premier League goals and completed eight assists this season and his recent performances have pushed Chelsea closer to the line when the rest of the team have been struggling.
Someone unlucky to miss out on an award this season is Cesc Fabregas, who has 17 assists this season – just three short of Thierry Henry’s Premier League record.
Look for Oscar to play in this game ahead of fellow Brazilian Willian, with Mourinho perhaps favouring a late burst from the latter if needs be.
Attack
With the club’s top scorer Costa out for at least another week, Mourinho looks set to keep faith in Didier Drogba.
The Ivorian scored in the win over Leicester on Wednesday and despite being 37-years-old, can still do a job at the top flight of English Football.
If Drogba were to get tired then Remy should be ready for a call up to the squad.
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