Fenerbahce preview: keep it together

Evening everyone.
Some bits and pieces to go on to today.
The manager has held a usual pre-match press conference today and it turned out to be enlightening in more ways than one.
First off, he reiterated his desire to field as strong as squad as possible. So no rest for our leaders just yet. The manager cold have taken the easy way out and play a bunch of kids, following our emphatic away win, which gives us an advantage, but he opted against it. Don't know the reasoning behind this decision and I won't pretend I know the manager`s thoughts, so I'll give you my views on the matter.
The first thing, that comes to mind, is that the manager wants to keep our winning streak going and in order to accomplish that, he needs the players, that started this streak in the first place. Resting legs, especially before a derby is great, but the youngsters may not have that winning attitude of our senior players, thus being more prone to putting us in a difficult position.

Another consideration, that can be taken into account, is that Fenerbahce will most likely play their strongest side, and the quality of these players far outstrips the quality of our youth. That's not to say, our young players are worthless, no. Quite the opposite, in fact. The young lads that make out bench are very talented and in a few years can make the grade, but for now they are not experienced enough to hold their own against hardened pros. Fenerbahce may have looked like a joke a week ago, but it's wasn't entirely down to their performance and/or quality. We just kept them on the defensive with a stellar display and we all know, what this side is capable of doing, when we're at our best.
And thirdly, the most unlikely scenario, is that our senior players aren't just that tired. They may feel, they have it in themselves, to play twice in a week. Sometimes, it's harder to produce results, when you only have one game per week, than it is, when you have two or even three. The players just don't have time to think about anything else, than the upcoming match. Look at how strongly Chelsea finished last season, and they have been playing two games in a week for several months.
The truth is, I think, somewhere in-between. It is most likely, a combination of all those factors, that makes the manger play as able a side as possible. He may even urge the players to score a few, before, say, an hour mark, to ensure that we qualify and then rest the key players ahead of the North London clash.
In terms of injuries/suspensions, we seem to have a relatively clean record, going into the game. Long-termers aside, everyone is available. Whilshere should regain his spot alongside Ramsey, following a mid-week's rest and Koscielny is also back in contention. His injury (which looked awful on replays) turned out to be not that bad. So the Frenchman will most likely start.
Apart from these two coming into the side, I'd very much like to see Podolski start the game. He may not be a part of the plan, but if the manger can work the German in, we'll get ourselves a finisher on top of his game. There may be sense in letting Walcott rest (after all, he has three full games under his belt already) and starting Podolski.
The boss has also touched upon transfers, saying, he's positive, new players will arrive, so much so, he challenged the reporters to come knocking on his door, accusing the manger of doing nothing for the club, come September 2nd. If no new players are brought in, that is. I gotta say, I'd love some of the manager`s enthusiasm to pass on to me, but on the back of a summer, full of inertia, it's proving to be difficult. Let's hope we get a decent result tomorrow with the players we have, and then pray, every transfer goes according to the manager's plan.
Finally, you may have noticed the new design, but as it's thoroughly bugged, I'll come up with a new one tomorrow. I'm also considering swapping this host for something else, for several reasons. I'll notify you, of course when and if this happens.
I'm not sure they'll be a post tomorrow. If something useful comes up, check back here.
Until later