Chelsea FC: Why the Blues' Suspensions Are Far from Crippling

In the aftermath of Chelsea's revered UEFA Champions League win over Spanish giants Barcelona, many were quick to point out the depleted Blues squad that will travel to Munich for the final.

Doom mongers, I say!

Yes, it's true. Roberto Di Matteo has one hell of a selection dilemma ahead of the biggest game he is ever likely to manage.

John Terry's red card sees him miss the game, along with one-match suspensions for key players Ramires and Branislav Ivanovic—a byproduct of the overly physical but necessary way Chelsea overcame their possession-hungry opponents.

Raul Meireles is also set to sit the game out, while David Luiz may or may not make it. Gary Cahill was substituted during the second leg of the semifinal and no news yet has confirmed what the extent of the damage is.

That will leave Chelsea with, potentially, no senior centre-backs. Cahill should make it and Luiz would probably be slotted in prematurely with some injections to numb the pain, but yes, Chelsea have a defensive crisis.

But so Might Their Opponents!

Real Madrid's Bavarian encounter last week proved feisty. The amount of yellow cards we saw was astonishing and I'd put my house on it happening all over again in the second leg.

In the white corner, we have Xabi Alonso, Sergio Ramos, Fabio Coentrao and Gonzalo Higuain just one booking away from missing the final.

In case you didn't get that, that's two or three key players who are inches from missing the big night in Munich. Sergio Ramos is probably worth sticking £10 on to get booked!

In the red corner, we have seven Bayern Munich players on a knife edge. The entire back line can't put a single foot wrong and key playmaker Thomas Muller needs to be careful too.

Should any of Bayern's central defensive personnel pick up a booking, fallback options Daniel Van Buyten and Breno are injured too.

The Reality of the Situation

Yes, Chelsea are hankered by suspensions and injuries—but so is everyone else.

If Bayern were to emerge victorious, they could do so with only half a first-choice defensive line to field in the final—the exact situation Roberto Di Matteo's men are in.

If Real Madrid come through to the final, they may well do without key defender Ramos and chief playmaker Alonso. Replacing those two is impossible, just like replacing Ramires is for the Chelsea.

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