John Obi Mikel is practically part of the furniture at Chelsea, the midfielder could be Chelsea's unlikely hero in his 10th year at the club. Chelsea's midfield has been feeble this season but last week was different as Mikel maintained his unbeaten record under the interim manager.
Mikel has played 19 games across two seasons under Hiddink and never lost – drawing five and winning 14, including the FA Cup final in 2009. Crystal Palace became his latest victim last week and Scunthorpe could be next.
Chelsea signed Mikel in 2006 and their win percentage rises when he is in the team. With him, it is 61.8%. Without, it drops to 58.1%.
Last week he was preferred to Nemanja Matic and was a catalyst for Chelsea's most complete performance this season. You can't bully him, nor can you shove him off the ball. The 28-year-old tackled, blocked, cleared and intercepted at Selhurst Park – and produced an unrivalled 95.1% pass completion rate too. It was the fourth highest accuracy by any player with 80 or more passes in a Premier League game this season, and Hiddink said afterwards: 'I think John Obi can be one of the key figures in bringing back balance.