This is now the third match of this Guiness International Champions Cup preseason humdinger; the current situation is as follows:
After 2 games, this is where we stand on the #ICC2013 bracket! Who will win the two games taking place tonight? pic.twitter.com/cwfrnJoh1L
— Int Champions Cup (@IntChampionsCup) August 1, 2013
Tonight's winner goes on to the semifinal to face AC Milan, so should we lose, that matchup would actually end up a rather non-standard Derby della Madonnina. As interesting as that may be, let's hope it's our shade of blue shirts instead who will get to match up against El Shaarawy and Co.
With an almost full-strength squad at his disposal - minus an injured Frank Lampard and a sick André Schürrle - Jose Mourinho has opted for the following.
Chelsea starting lineup (4-2-3-1):
Petr Cech | Ashley Cole, John Terry, Gary Cahill, Branislav Ivanovic | Marco van Ginkel, Ramires | Victor Moses, Oscar, Eden Hazard | Romelu Lukaku
Substitutes from: Mark Schwarzer, Ryan Bertrand, Cesar Azpilicueta, David Luiz, Michael Essien, John Obi Mikel, Juan Mata, Fernando Torres, Demba Ba
Internazionale starting lineup (3-5-2):
Samir Handanovic | Juan Jesus, Andrea Ranocchia, Hugo Campagnaro | Alvaro Pereira, Ricardo Alvarez, Esteban Cambiasso, Fredy Guarin, Yuto Nagatomo | Mauro Icardi, Rodrigo Palacio
Inter and Jose are of course linked almost as closely as Chelsea and Jose, so we might as well call this the Jose Mourinho Cup. COME ON YOU BLUES!