Wednesday 23rd September 2009
The Carling Cup Third Round
Stamford Bridge Stadium
Referee: M J Jones
Kick-off: 19:45
Chelsea V Queens Park Rangers
By The Godfather

Overview

This is it. The fixture that Queens Park Rangers fans have been waiting for since the cup draw was made earlier this month. On Wednesday evening, the Super Hoops will make the short trip to Stamford Bridge to face their local rivals, Chelsea, in the third round of the Carling Cup. On paper, the Premiership leaders should win quite comfortably, but following an excellent victory over Cardiff City and backed by the support of several thousand away fans, the Rs are most definitely in with a chance.

Everybody knows about (and dislikes) Chelsea so I am not going to dwell on the club’s recent history and achievements. In addition, there is little point in going over their first team players, as everyone is aware that Carlo Ancelotti has some world class footballers at his disposal who are more than capable of doing Rangers’ defence some real damage on Wednesday night.

As this is a Carling Cup match, it is possible that Ancelotti will field a weakened team, with several of the stars being dropped to the bench. Therefore, instead of my usual “men to watch” section, I thought that I’d go over some of Chelsea’s reserve players who could be given a start on Wednesday evening.

Young striker, Fabio Borini, could be selected in the Chelsea starting line-up for Wednesday’s fixture. The 18 year-old joined the club from Bologna in 2007 and has since made a real impact in the reserve team, notching ten goals in eleven appearances last season. He made his home debut last Saturday against Tottenham, coming off the bench to replace Nicolas Anelka in the 89th minute.

In central midfield, Ancelotti could hand a place in the starting eleven to former Leeds United youngster, Michael Woods. The 19 year-old is yet to make his Premier League debut, but has featured in the FA Cup on two occasions. He has represented England at Under-16, Under-17 and Under-19 level.

At the back, Sam Hutchinson could be given an opportunity to impress on Wednesday evening. The 20 year-old, who can play as a right-back or in central defence, has made two appearances, most recently coming on as a substitute against Fulham last month. Like Woods, he has represented England at Under-18 and Under- 19 level.

Some better known members of the squad who could be involved in the cup-tie include the reserve goalkeeper, Hilario, and the skilful striker, Daniel Sturridge, who signed for Chelsea from Manchester City during the summer. Yuri Zhirkov and Joe Cole may also feature.

Previous Match

January 2008 – Chelsea edged past Queens Park Rangers in this FA Cup encounter at Stamford Bridge, being helped by an unfortunate own goal from Lee Camp. In the 28th minute, Claudio Pizarro smashed his long shot against the post, but the ball rebounded off the QPR goalkeeper’s back and into the net. Other than that mistake, the Rs produced a solid defensive performance, restricting Chelsea to only a few goalscoring opportunities. Martin Rowlands had the best chance for the away side, firing just over from the edge of the box with ten minutes left on the clock.

QPR Manager, Luigi De Canio: "Chelsea demonstrated they are a great team. They behaved well. I think we did what we were expected to - we were quite tidy on the pitch. We tried to take advantage of every possible chance that we had. I am very satisfied with the performance. We worked well and it just shows we are on course to grow in the way we want. We put them under pressure and did our job well but unluckily we didn't win. It is never nice to lose but Chelsea are the great champions they are and they were good at creating chances."

Chelsea 1-0 Queens Park Rangers

QPR Team News

Unfortunately, Ben Watson will be unavailable for the West London derby, as he played in Wigan’s loss at Blackpool last month and is cup-tied. Angelo Balanta, Fitz Hall and Gareth Ainsworth will probably miss out with injuries. Matthew Connolly and Adel Taraabt should both be back in contention for a starting place after sitting out of the Cardiff game through illness. Lee Cook remains a long-term absentee.

Prediction

Football is a funny old game, isn’t it? If someone had asked me for my prediction of the Chelsea scoreline two weeks ago, I would have said that we would be utterly destroyed by the former Premier League champions. Now, after such an excellent performance against Cardiff City, I find myself feeling far more optimistic.

Obviously a lot depends on the strength of Ancelotti’s team. If he selects the likes of Didier Drogba, Nicolas Anelka, Frank Lampard, Michael Essien and John Terry, then the Rs will lose. It’s as simple as that. But, let’s face it, that’s unlikely to happen. I suspect the Chelsea side will consist of a mixture of experience and youth.

I do hope that Magilton sticks with the same side (apart from Watson, of course). After such a good performance against the Bluebirds last Saturday, I see no reason to make changes to the team selection.

I suspect that Rangers will give this match a real go. Of course, it’s going to be incredibly difficult to beat such a strong team, but you never know what can happen in a cup competition. However, for my prediction, I’m afraid I’m going to let my head rule my heart.

Chelsea 2-1 Queens Park Rangers