What better way to salve our mid-week wounds than Wigan Athletic paying us a visit? Sure, they're not the same team that we beat 8-0 at Stamford Bridge last year, and we're not the same side that beat them 6-0 at the DW Stadium back in August, but there's still something immensely pleasing about the idea of them coming to town. We haven't really had a truly relaxing match in a while, and this has some real potential.
As you all know, Alex is back and on the bench, and while Carlo Ancelotti didn't explicitly name him, I'd expect Yossi Benayoun to make it back too (Josh McEachran, we hardly knew ye). In the first match against the Latics we had some huge success using the 4-1-2-3, but, since it's Chelsea and I'm pretty sure Carlo Ancelotti is going to do this until one of Fernando Torres and Didier Drogba mysteriously vanishes, we'll line up in a 4-4-2.
And realistically, it won't matter one bit. Wigan are a terrible team, probably the worst in the Premier League. They deserved to be relegated last year, are going to be relegated this year, and are generally awful. And we're really rather good, 4-4-2 or not. So don't get too worked up by tactics, team selection, or whatever. Chelsea have bigger fish to fry than Wigan, and they'll be attempting to do that at Old Trafford on Tuesday. This is a chance for Carlo to rest his big guns, so hopefully he does just that.
I guess that was a crappy preview. I'm sorry. It's Wigan.
Time: 3:00 PM GMT (10:00 AM EST)
Location: Stamford Bridge, London.
Pick: Chelsea 4-0 Wigan.