Chelsea's line-up for their FA clash with Cardiff City sports many changes from Wednesday's debacle at Goodison. Nicolas Anelka and Florent Malouda will give way for Joe Cole and Daniel Sturridge while Paulo Ferreira will give Branislav Ivanovic a rest at right back. But It's the change at left back that will be receiving the most press as it may be a permanent one for the rest of the season.

Yuri Zhirkov, the left-sided Russian Chelsea managed to wrench away from Barcelona in the summer, has been chosen by Carlo Ancelotti as the replacement for Ashley Cole, whose broken ankle will require surgery. Since Cole will be fighting for World Cup fitness, it's safe to say that Chelsea need Zhirkov to hit the ground running so that this position doesn't turn into another selection headache.



I've been harping on the fact that Zhirkov should start and now I guess my wish has been granted. Not exactly they way I wanted it. Despite his arrogance and embarrassing antics often directed toward game officials, Cole is a world class left back. Opponents have had a lot of trouble this season trying to force play along the sidelines because of the superior play from both Cole and Ivanovic. Adding to his shutdown marking has been the surprising addition of offense. Free to push forward, he has scored two of his three goals on overlapping runs into the box. He's struggled on and off with ankle problems but his long term absence could spell trouble.

But this is a chance for Zhirkov to prove me right. Since the Chelsea midfield under Ancelotti does not feature wingers, both full backs actually play more of a wing back role on the attacking side of the ball. Both Cole and Ivanovic have impacted the Chelsea attack with their pace down the sideline and pace is something that Zhirkov possesses in excess. He is also very skilled on the ball. His change of direction, if you've happened to see him subbed late into games, is just sick. He will have no trouble against most defenders in getting a clean cross into the mixer from out wide.

The wait-and-see on the Russian will be his defending. It is the team's hope that he can be a shutdown guy for 90 minutes and Ancelotti sounds very confident in Zhirkov's chances of prospering there. And if any team is in need of a spark, it's Chelsea. The team's last two road matches have been dreadful and set pieces continue to be a major issue. John Terry will be given the weekend to collect himself and here's hoping he does just that. He was at fault on both of Louis Saha's goals on Wednesday, proving that the pressure may be getting to him after all. The team is fortunate (once again) that United could not capitalize on their dropped points and cannot afford to take matches off as the race is now tighter than ever.