Q&A: Wigan Athletic vs Chelsea

Well with the first game of the season fast approaching this weekend, everyone has to be excited about the start of the new season. It doesn't matter who you play just that your team plays and kicks that ball to start the season off. The fact that Wigan have got Chelsea of little importance. Apart from they Champions League Champions and will have a point to prove this season.

So with that in mind, I skipped over to 'We Ain't Got No History' (no but making a good go at making some, should be the new addition), the Chelsea SB Nation Blog. I cornered Stephen Schmidt and asked him, just how he was feeling ahead of the new season? And whether or not it lives up to the times under the ice cold Mourinho?

Last season the Champions League and FA Cup wins came off thanks to great management by Roberto Di Matteo. Has the summer been good for him? Has he got the players he wants to challenge for the Premier League title? Or are there players that he has missed out on?

Chelsea management is always an interesting topic, but I think Di Matteo is being treated a bit differently than other managers have been in the past. Chelsea seem to be moving to a more North American style of management, with Di Matteo being very minimally involved in the transfer decisions and focused more on managing the club on the pitch. Frankly, this should help him greatly. Ron Gourlay and Michael Emenalo have been doing a great job of bringing in top young talent, and Di Matteo just needs to find a way to get the best results out of what he has. I don't think we're going to challenge City this season without a bit of luck, but this should be a very good squad that only gets better going forward.

There is of course continual Chelsea interest in Victor Moses. How do you think Moses would fit into the Chelsea squad? And is he really needed?

Moses would be a great fit for Chelsea IMO just due to his ability to play both on the wing and as a striker. I doubt he'll see the minutes he'd get at Wigan with the blues, but there are enough competitions that he'll get plenty of time on the pitch this season. If Moses sells for anything under 10 million pounds, he's going to look like a great bit of business when compared to similarly young and homegrown players like Joe Allen and Jack Rodwell.

What do you think about the current Chelsea squad? Does it match up to the days when they were under the reign of Jose Mourinho?

I don't think we'll see many squads that match up to those Mourinho squads going forward. With FFP looming, clubs are going to have to start buying younger, less developed players for their depth. That said, Chelsea have more young potentially world class talent than they ever have before. This will be a fun season to watch.

Who do you see as Chelsea's player to watch this season? Is there a leading light, or is it a team effort?

This may seem like a generic answer, but it's got to be Fernando Torres. Chelsea isn't deep at center forward (at least at the senior level), so Torres just has to produce for Chelsea to challenge for silverware.

Who do you see being at the top of the table this season? And who do you think will be fighting for survival?

I hate to say it, but I think City tops the table by a good margin. They've got more talent in their prime than anyone at the moment, and they haven't made many drastic changes that will need time to gel. United made a heck of a run at them last year, but I felt like they overachieved in the process. I'd imagine you'll see a 3 way fight for 2nd with Chelsea, United, and Arsenal (if they keep RvP). Tottenham are certainly capable of getting into that mix, but until they buy a better striker than Jermaine Defoe I'm having a hard time seeing it. Relegation will be interesting, as there are about a dozen teams that could be in that discussion. The last 2 weeks of the window will probably alter the landscape at the bottom more than the top.

What kind of game do you expect on Sunday? Are Chelsea going out to look for blood to start the season flying with a big win?

Sunday's game will be interesting. Chelsea have looked poor this pre-season, but they've had most of the squad away on international duty. The old guard have shown in the past that they can flip the switch after a poor pre-season, and I think this season will be the same. I imagine we'll see flashes of brilliance, but I don't think it will be a dominant performance by any means. the Juan Mata/Eden Hazard pairing will be a lot of fun to watch though, and I imagine those 2 will give us a few "wow" moments.

What result do you predict?

It's hard to pick a result for this one, but I'll go with Chelsea 2 - Wigan 1. The status of Victor Moses will be worth watching, as he was fantastic against us last season.

And finally, what is your favorite flavor pie?

Favorite pie...I guess I'll have to go with peach, anything with rhubarb is up there.