5 Chelsea Players Most Likely to Be Sent off This Season

Out of all the teams who tend to lose players due to them being sent off, Chelsea seem to be the club who are affected most, either positively or in the most adverse fashion.

Perhaps the most famous red card the Blues received in recent memory was in the last year's Champions League semifinal, when John Terry was dismissed following an off-the-ball incident with Barcelona's Alexis Sanchez.

Somehow, after going 2-0 down to the Blaugrauna at the Camp Nou, goals from Ramires and Fernando Torres saw Roberto Di Matteo's 10-man side sensationally reach the final, proving that sometimes a red card can have a rallying effect on the team.

But more often than not, a player's moment of madness or simply a mistake from the referee can cost a team points or perhaps, even a trophy.

And here, we take a look at Chelsea's most frequent offenders in the disciplinary hall of shame. Come join us, there's a few surprises in store. 

I know what you're thinking. The baby-faced striker nicknamed "El Nino" could never be capable of getting sent off.

But since his £50 million transfer from Liverpool two-and-a-half years ago, Fernando Torres has seen red twice in Chelsea colours.

In fact, for both encounters, we can safely say that the 29-year-old was rather unfortunate. The first instance was a two-footed lunge on Swansea's Mark Gower or, what our clichéd friends in the punditry industry like to call, a "striker's tackle".

No harm was intended, but Torres went flying in, caught the former Southend United man and was rightly shown the red card by Mike Dean.

And last season, he fell victim of Mark Clattenburg's misjudgment against Manchester United, a decision that ultimately cost the Blues vital points. 

Torres, already on a yellow card, poked the ball through Jonny Evans' legs and was caught by the Northern Irishman. Clattenburg, however, missed the contact and wrongly handed the ex-Liverpool striker a second yellow card for simulation. 

Not quite Vinnie Jones in terms of aggression, but after getting a red card in each of the last two seasons, it would hardly be a shock to see Torres take yet another early bath in 2013-14.

You'll be surprised to learn that despite his scuffles and moments of controversy, David Luiz is yet to pick up a red card in the Premier League.

Perhaps more shocking is that the fact that even though he joined the club on the same day as Fernando Torres, the Spaniard has two more (as you would have read on the first slide.)

Luiz has the energy, and sometimes naivety, to get a red card. He'll happily become embroiled in a personal battle with the opposition striker, but it's worth pointing out the 26-year-old's intelligence.

Although it's never good to see a player try and get another professional sent off, Luiz succeeded when his compatriot Rafael, who was playing for Manchester United, kicked out at the Chelsea defender. The former Benfica smiled as he writhed on the floor with agony, much to the dismay of the media in the game.

Still, it's only a matter of time before Luiz, who collected eight yellow cards last season, sees the colour turn to red.

Your typical break-up-the-play-and-make-cynical-fouls midfielder, John Obi Mikel's first objective is to win back the ball. If he can't, he's more than happy to take a yellow card.

Unfortunately for Mikel, he does tend to pick up quite a few cards, although to his credit, they are hardly ever red. At least, not anymore.

One of the longest-serving players at the club after joining from Norwegian club Lynn Oslo back in 2006, Mikel has been a constant in a turbulent period for the club.

In his first two seasons at the club, however, he was sent off four times. And the fact he has not been dismissed since 2008 shows signs of his maturity.

Nevertheless, the 26-year-old is a team player, and if he needs to make a challenge which will earn him yet another early bath, he'll be the first to volunteer. 

For a player who calls his new boss "Daddy", it's unlikely that Michael Essien could cause such danger to other professionals.

But there's a reason why he is nicknamed 'The Bison', due to his powerful, stocky frame. In fact, when the Blues played the Singha All-Star XI in Thailand on Wednesday, Essien knocked over their strong forward Cleiton Xavier without much effort at all.

In all seriousness, Essien appears to have failed to eradicate the dirty side of his game completely. Of course, he is nowhere near as bad as he was, with the ex-Lyon midfielder causing controversy just a week after moving to Chelsea back in 2005.

His last red card came against Fulham for a two-footed lunge on Clint Dempsey, and while the 30-year-old is unlikely to want to upset Jose Mourinho, his lapse of concentration means a red card is always possible.

Arguably one of the most infamous red cards in Chelsea's history occurred on the 24th of April 2012, when Chelsea were hanging on to their 1-0 lead at the Camp Nou their captain kicked Barcelona forward Alexis Sanchez, who theatrically fell to the ground.

Terry could not believe it as he was shown a red card, and with the Blues miraculously reaching the final against Bayern Munich, the former England defender would not be able to play through suspension.

Given that he would not be able to make amends for his penalty miss four years ago in the final against Manchester United, it was a big deal for Terry.

And since then, he has not picked up another. Now 32, it's likely that Terry came to the realisation that there can be no more moments of stupidity after picking up five red cards in his career.

But as a defender, he will know better than anyone else that sometimes, you need to go for which could end up being a superb intervention or a mistimed tackle. 

Needless to say, after a tough year, he will be hoping for more of the former under Jose Mourinho.