Branislav Ivanovic reverted to the centre of defence for this Sunday's clash against Stoke City, knowing nothing less than a win will do.
It will be only the eighth time this season the versatile Serb has started in the middle, with his 30 other appearances coming from right-back in the absence of Jose Bosingwa, missing since October with a knee injury.
For the first time in the Barclays Premier League this season, we will be without the leadership of John Terry, suspended after his red card at Tottenham last weekend, so it is Ivanovic who steps in to fill the vacancy.
'Who else can play there?' joked the 26-year-old, who has looked so comfortable on the right flank for most of the campaign. 'It is always difficult the first game when you change position but it doesn't matter, the first, most important and only thing is that we have to win this game.
'We play at home and we know how we have to play against Stoke, we already played them at home in the FA Cup. In the moment this is the only important thing.'
Anything less than a victory means we hand Manchester United the opportunity to overtake us in the title race, yet despite their safe mid-table position, with no threat of relegation nor chance of qualifying for Europe, Ivanovic is only too aware that Stoke will be giving nothing away.
'The Stoke mentality is that they can play without pressure, when you play against big teams you always want to show everything, show your best, and with no pressure you can be more relaxed,' Ivanovic explained. 'We have to stay focused and we know what we have to do on Sunday and we will do everything to win the game.
'In Serbia maybe, probably a team like Stoke would give up against Chelsea, but I have been here two years and I see everything about the smaller teams. Here every team can win against big teams, it is what makes football in England so exciting.'
As much as we love the drama, we would all appreciate there being no tales of the unexpected this afternoon.
It will be only the eighth time this season the versatile Serb has started in the middle, with his 30 other appearances coming from right-back in the absence of Jose Bosingwa, missing since October with a knee injury.
For the first time in the Barclays Premier League this season, we will be without the leadership of John Terry, suspended after his red card at Tottenham last weekend, so it is Ivanovic who steps in to fill the vacancy.
'Who else can play there?' joked the 26-year-old, who has looked so comfortable on the right flank for most of the campaign. 'It is always difficult the first game when you change position but it doesn't matter, the first, most important and only thing is that we have to win this game.
'We play at home and we know how we have to play against Stoke, we already played them at home in the FA Cup. In the moment this is the only important thing.'
Anything less than a victory means we hand Manchester United the opportunity to overtake us in the title race, yet despite their safe mid-table position, with no threat of relegation nor chance of qualifying for Europe, Ivanovic is only too aware that Stoke will be giving nothing away.
'The Stoke mentality is that they can play without pressure, when you play against big teams you always want to show everything, show your best, and with no pressure you can be more relaxed,' Ivanovic explained. 'We have to stay focused and we know what we have to do on Sunday and we will do everything to win the game.
'In Serbia maybe, probably a team like Stoke would give up against Chelsea, but I have been here two years and I see everything about the smaller teams. Here every team can win against big teams, it is what makes football in England so exciting.'
As much as we love the drama, we would all appreciate there being no tales of the unexpected this afternoon.
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