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Jose Mourinho has some massive decisions to make when Arsenal visit Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
The Blues have suffered an awful, well documented, start to the Premier League season where they have picked up just one win from their first five matches and already find themselves 11 points adrift of rivals Manchester City.
A number of last season's stars have been truly terrible this season with huge problems in both defence, where they have conceded more goals than any other team, and attack, where Diego Costa, Eden Hazard and Cesc Fabregas have found no form.
Chelsea, albeit against a second-rate Maccabi Tel Aviv team, were much better in midweek, attacking with verve and energy after Mourinho made six changes to the team.
Now the Portuguese must decide whether he sticks with his young guns and fringe players, and hope they deal with a step up in class, or revert back to his established, but desperately out of form stars.
Here, we look at the XI we think Mourinho should pick for the match:
Show all 11 1 /11The XI Chelsea should play against Arsenal The XI Chelsea should play against Arsenal GK: Asmir Begovic Irony alert. Petr Cech finally quit Chelsea after 10 years because he wanted first-team football - his replacement, Thibaut Courtois, promptly goes and gets injured for around three months. Begovic is as good as a back-up as you'll find in the Premier League and would be a regular starter for at least 10 other teams in the division.
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The XI Chelsea should play against Arsenal RB: Cesar Azpilicueta If Branislav Ivanovic was even playing at a Championship level then he would be in the team, but the Serbian would not get into a League One side at the moment. He's been an absolute liability both defensively and had no impact as an attacker, where he has been so reliable. Cesar Azpilicueta is a stout defender and has the pace and energy to cover the entire right-hand side - that will be key with Chelsea short on wingers for this match.
The XI Chelsea should play against Arsenal CB: Kurt Zouma Zouma has the pace to deal with Theo Walcott and the strength to deal with Olivier Giroud. As Everton found out last week he is far from the finished article and can be found out with clever movement. But he played better than Gary Cahill in midweek and should retain his place.
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The XI Chelsea should play against Arsenal CB: John Terry Despite his half-time benching against Manchester City, the Chelsea captain has not done much wrong at all this season, but has been badly let down by those playing in front and around him. Father time eventually catches up with everyone, but his organisation and desire mean he should play - besides, Gary Cahill is still not at his level.
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The XI Chelsea should play against Arsenal LB: Baba Rahman Azpilicueta moving over to the right gives Baba Rahman a chance to make the left-back position his own. His added pace and natural left-foot give him an obvious advantage over the Spaniard - who often cuts inside and slows attacks - where he can overlap Eden Hazard to give Chelsea an extra dimension. But, and it's a big but, the young Ghanaian struggled defensively against Maccabi, and was way too often caught high up the pitch and out of position. Chelsea will be ruthlessly punished if he does that against Arsenal. A more disciplined performance is needed.
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The XI Chelsea should play against Arsenal CM: Nemanja Matic His dramatic collapse this season has been just as quick as his meteoric rise to the very top last season, where he overtook Yaya Toure as the best midfielder in the league. Has looked tired, mentally and physically, this season. Got a rest in midweek and knows he must be at his best to combat whatever midfield Arsene Wenger elects to pick. Huge game for Matic, he will be key.
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The XI Chelsea should play against Arsenal CM: Cesc Fabregas It was a surprise to see him play against Maccabi but it was just the tonic the Spaniard needed. His fingerprints were all over the game in a dominant individual performance that brought a goal and an assist and some impressive probing play. Still Chelsea's main creator, Fabregas and Blues fans need to hope his performance translates against a much better class of opponent.
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The XI Chelsea should play against Arsenal RW: Pedro If he's anywhere close to being fit then he has to play - Chelsea just don't have the options in their paper-thin squad. The extremely limited Ramires or the raw Ruben Loftus-Cheek will be the next choices if Pedro misses out, as Willian is out and numerous others out on loan. The Barcelona man started quickly but wasn't at his best against Everton. Still a quality option, however.
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The XI Chelsea should play against Arsenal AM: Oscar Two goals in two starts this season, Oscar's work rate and willingness to defend have made him a Mourinho favourite over the last two years, although that slipped in the second half of last season when the Brazilian badly lost form. The jury is still out on Oscar, who needs to add more flair and creativity to his pretty decent goal record. Has to have a big performance on Saturday.
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The XI Chelsea should play against Arsenal LW: Eden Hazard Not in the team by merit. Last season's Player of the Year looks unfit and (whisper it) a bit uninterested. The Maccabi game should have been a chance for him to find some form, like it was for Fabregas, but Hazard wasn't close to his best, with the early penalty miss knocking his confidence. The weight of burden appears to be hanging heavy on his shoulders, as is the constant double teaming and aggressive treatment he faces from opponents. But it would be far too big a risk to leave him out - plus Chelsea just don't have the options with Willian and maybe Pedro missing. If he doesn't perform then he should expect a spell out of the team.
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The XI Chelsea should play against Arsenal ST: Diego Costa If Mourinho can tell him to stop trying to fight every defender in the land and actually concentrate on his football, he'll have a hell of a striker on his hands. Provided two moments of inspiration against Maccabi, showing quick feet and a turn of pace to win the second penalty, and a telepathic connection - and sublime technique - to volley in a Cesc Fabregas pass. Needs to find his goal scoring form quick for Chelsea to claw their way back into contention. Loic Remy did ok in midweek, but unfortunately was forced to play wide after just 20 minutes because of injury to Willian.
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Disagree with our team? Let us know in the comments below
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