Diego Costa, John Terry Among Chelsea Stars Reportedly Facing Jose Mourinho Axe

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho is set to wield the axe when it comes to a host of high-profile stars, with Diego Costa and John Terry reportedly ready to be dropped by the Portuguese.

According to Neil Ashton of the Daily Mail and Adrian Kajumba of the Daily Mirror, Costa and Terry will both be left out of the Blues team for the Champions League clash against Maccabi Tel Aviv on Wednesday. In addition, Branislav Ivanovic and Nemanja Matic will also be cut.

“Yes, I will make a couple of changes because I have to try a different dynamic,” admitted Mourinho in his pre-match press conference on Tuesday. “I have to try a couple of different faces, and to give chances to people who have not been playing but have been working hard.”

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According to Kajumba, Kurt Zouma will partner Gary Cahill at the heart of the back four, with skipper Terry likely to be dropped. It’s also noted that Ruben Loftus-Cheek will be brought into the centre of midfield to partner Cesc Fabregas.

In fairness to Matic, the Spanish international could have easily been withdrawn from the starting XI after some tepid displays. Indeed, Fabregas’ display at Everton was woeful, per Squawka Football:

Both of the aforementioned pieces suggest Loic Remy will start the match at the point of the attack, with Radamel Falcao suffering a minor injury problem, while Cesar Azpilicueta will be shifted from left-back to right-back following a really poor start to the season from Ivanovic. Summer signing Baba Rahman will fill in on the left of the defence. 

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As noted by Oliver Holt of the Mail on Sunday, the deterioration in standards from Ivanovic, who is usually one of Chelsea’s most reliable performers, has been especially alarming:

Mourinho certainly needs to do something to spark this set of players into life. The Blues are a side bereft of attacking ingenuity and defensive cohesion. That’s led to three defeats from their opening five Premier League games this season and in truth, it could have been even worse.

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The Portuguese seems to be getting tough on his players, with any kind of training ground tomfoolery reportedly banned in an attempt to get more serious. But bringing in some fresh faces could well be the way to rekindle something special in this team.

But as noted here by ESPN FC’s Miguel Delaney, this poor run of form represents an unfamiliar obstacle for the manager to overcome:

Chelsea have one of the very best squads around and for Mourinho not to utilise other options at times like this would have been peculiar. The standard of the opposition—Maccabi are a decent side, but not one who should pose any major problems for the Blues at Stamford Bridge—should also give the Portuguese a safety net when rotating.

It’s a chance for players that have been sat on the sidelines stewing to come in and grasp their opportunities too, something that bodes well for a much more committed performance. It’s not often men like Costa, Terry, Matic and Ivanovic are off their game; the players coming in may never get a better chance to make their case for a regular starting spot.