There’s been much talk about what formation Guus Hiddink will go with against Aston Villa on Saturday, particularly when it comes to our frontmen. However, the decision of whether or not to play both Drogba and Anelka together seems to be one of the easier one’s he’ll have to make.
The harder decision for Hiddink will be around our defence, because with Ricardo Carvalho still out with a hamstring injury, Ashley Cole suspended following a totally unnecessary fifth yellow against Watford, and Alex missing training with an ankle injury, his options are a little bit limited to say the least.
Villa, with the likes of Emile Heskey, Agbonlahor, Milner and Ashley Young are likely to be a lot more pacey than anything John Terry has been able to handle this season and even if Alex does struggle back, with a match-rusty Paulo Ferreira coming in for Cole, it’ll hardly be the most inspiring defence Chelsea have ever put out.
Of course, Hiddink always has the option of Branislav Ivanovic if Alex doesn’t recover in time, although if he was paying any attention to the Serbian against Watford he’s probably discounted this option already. Then again, he could opt for the young Michael Mancienne.
Mancienne did an ok job for us last weekend, albeit at right-back for the absent Jose Bosingwa but playing against a really good Villa side in a fixture we’re not exactly known for bossing is another matter entirely. It’s a lot to ask a 21 year old who’s spent most of his time away from Chelsea to get out there and confidently take on a Premier League side lying 3rd in the table, although having said that, I probably thought the same thing about another young centre-back once up a time.