Fernando Torres' future at Chelsea looked in doubt after Jose Mourinho started the crunch clash with Manchester United without a single striker on the field.
In doing so Mourinho became the first Blues boss to start with a forward since Roberto di Matteo against Juventus in November 2012 and he was sacked soon after.
Mourinho has elected to start Andre Shurrle, who has been deployed as a winger for the majority of his career, as the man up top. The Portuguese manager insisted the move was not a 'defensive' one.
Left out: Jose Mourinho has left Fernando Torres out of his starting lineup
'Win or lose I have to make decisions, I’m not afraid to make decisions, in the end the result will decide whether I was right or wrong.
'We worked well in the week playing in this system with this game plan, the players were happy with it in practice. So we will see.'
In doubt: Fernando Torres' future at the clubs looks under pressure
Last act of defiance: Robert di Matteo's last team selection was his striker-less eleven in the 3-0 defeat to Juventus
Di Matteo's final act of protest was to play no strikers in Turin, a match that Chelsea eventually lost 3-0, in which Chelsea were left on the brink of an embarrassing Champions League exit at the group stage.
Eden Hazard was the man who played furthest forward during that game, a match in which the Blues were battered by the Italian champions.
Tonight's selection will also come as a blow to Romelu Lukaku, who looked extremely lively when he entered the match against Aston Villa, and Demba Ba, whose future also looks under pressure.
Meanwhile, Juan Mata was also left on the bench for this key clash as his future at Stamford Bridge comes under increasing speculation.
Selection: Andre Schurrle, ussually a winger, will play furthest forward, while Juan Mata has also been dropped
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