Chelsea have had to make a lot of adjustments over the past few weeks. The fact that they have had to play more than 60 official matches this season has really taken a toll on the Blues who have faced a lot of injuries and most of all interminable fatigue. The infernal pace they have dealt with especially in 2013 is too much even if they are considered as being some of the best athletes in the world. Several players have complained about not having more than one or two days rest between matches and also spoke about the fact that it is not normal that their adversaries have different schedules that allow them to recover after each fixture.
After being eliminated from the FA Cup by Manchester City, Chelsea still have to fight for a spot in the top 4 Premier League teams that will grant them access to next years’ Champions League. According to London Evening Standard, the Europa League final is another goal they have set their minds to achieve, but it is a secondary objective considering the benefits that come from both competitions.
After a tough match against Basel that ended with a late goal from Luiz, Chelsea are now thinking about their next match with Swansea on Sunday. If they manage to win they will definitely have a major advantage over Arsenal, who are facing Manchester United. The Blues may use Demba Ba as their first option for the striker position even though Torres has experienced a slight increase in form and efficiency while playing in the Europa League fixtures. Ba is not able to play for Chelsea unless the matches are part of a domestic competition as he is cup-tied for the Europa League having played for old club Newcastle in it.
Cahill is another player who did not play against Basel and will probably be part of the starting line-up selected by Benitez for this Sunday’s match.
Demba Ba has had some great performances this year and would have probably impressed even more if given the chance to play more. He has been a forced absentee from all the Europa League matches and also had to face some injury time that kept him from contributing as much as he would like, but he still has time to make an important contribution with 4 important matches left in the Premier League season and he intends to get on the scoresheet against the Swans as Chelsea look to avenge their loss to the South Wales team in the Capital One Cup semi-final.