Carling Cup Final Preview

by Joel Martin

Our first step will be not to concede early. If Drogba, who normally terrorizes our back line, gets going early he could score three or four goals before the game ends.

Our midfield will have to be decisive and strong to hold their own against any combination of Ballack, Lampard, Makelele, Essien, Robben, and Obi Mikel.

Walcott needs a good game; he has been lacking confidence lately. Diaby is coming off a great game against Blackburn, as is Denilson, and both of them will need to keep that form. Gilberto will need to find his after an awful performance in Eindhoven.

If Hoyte passes his fitness test, he should start. Clichy also needs to pass fitness to play, but Armand Traore should get the start anyway.

Baptista (who needs to prove his worth) and the lately-impressive Aliadiere, who is getting better every day, should pair up up front. Maybe Baptista will pull out a four-goal game out of his bag like he did at Anfield.

Gallas, Lehmann, Henry, and Ljungberg are not in the squad. Rosicky, Adebayor, and Fabregas will all be on the bench most likely. If we can keep the game close, Rosicky can come off the bench and be the spark plug he was against Tottenham. In my mind, that’s the key to the game: keeping it close enough so Rosicky and Adebayor can have an impact as substitutes late in the second half. If we can, I think the youngsters have a shot at pulling off a big, big upset. If not, at least we’ll be somewhat rested for the Blackburn replay.