It was clear that Chelsea desperately missed Nemanja Matic during their defeat at the hands of Newcastle but John Obi Mikel is not a bad replacement.
Twice in two league games Chelsea have had to deal with two key midfield suspensions and have used Mikel to fill in – meaning that the midfielder needs playing time to really shine when called upon.
A long serving Chelsea player who tends to feature when Mourinho needs a greater emphasis on defence and certainly one who has usurped Ramires in the pecking order.