Fantastic. I’m actually ecstatic. We’ve all been saying this for weeks and months. Man Utd, with all due respects to their football, do not simply have that consistency and the killer instinct to last the race. In front of their vociferous 75,000-odd crowd drew a crucial match to send the Red hearts thumping. This was the most important fixture for Man Utd as this also leads up to their Champions League semi finals on Tuesday (by the way, Rio is ruled out for 2 weeks!). If Chelsea manages to beat Newcastle on Sunday, the gap will be just one point which Jose is very confident of wiping off against Man Utd at the Bridge.

It’s been a good week again for Chelsea. Some good news about Jose’s future as Peter Kenyon has ruled out sacking Mourinho. Not that Jose has let his personal conflicts affect Chelsea’s ambitions, but it’s always good to have things clarified. Last week, there was some drama about Sheva’s horror miss in front of the open goal in the FA Cup semi final and the consequent subbing by Jose. This week we have this wonderful news of even Sheva getting behind Jose Mourinho:

Mourinho is an excellent coach who can lead us to four trophies in one season. That says everything about him. He has been successful at every club he has been at, he unites the players, he motivates and teaches them. He is the key man for Chelsea.

We have the whole team minus Robben for selection. In defence, Bridge should get another start not only because he deserves one but also to keep Ashley fresh for the Champions League semi finals. Diarra played poorly in the last match but I’d consider that as a rare slip and have him start again. Paulo was good too but he is far too limited in talent when compared to what Diarra can offer. Terry and Carvalho should again form the centre defence. Like most of us, even Jose has recognised that Ricardo has been having a great season:

It is Ricardo’s best season with me. For a long period there was no Petr Cech behind him, no John Terry alongside and no Michael Essien in front and he was amazing. He deserved a rest at West Ham but the central defender position is difficult to change during a game.

With just about 9 more matches to go in this season, I’m slowly starting to realise that probably Jose might not rest anyone at all. Still I just hope that he keeps Lampard out of this game. I read somewhere that Mikel has played in almost every match (except suspension) since our loss at Anfield on Jan 20. Surely, Mikel has gone a long way from being a brat to a very reliable professional. Also he seems to be getting into the good books of the boss. That’s what you’s understand if he calls you a genius! SWP surely deserves a start after his performance against Hammers that got his first two premiership goals for Chelsea. I dont see Jose resting Drogba with all the trophies reachable in arm’s length. Drogba scored in the reverse fixture against Newcastle and if he plays, I’ll surely put my money on him to score again.

It’s quite possible to get complacent but that’s the last thing to happen under a coach like Jose. For his such young age and expecience, he has seen enough football to know that the game is not over until the final whistle is blown. Jose would not start celebrating before it’s due and you can be assured that’s the same message he might send to his team. By all probabilities, you’ll see Chelsea playing the same way they have done over the last three months. This 2 point drop by Man Utd will not get into the players head and they would play with the same sincerety, seriousness and caution as before. If I’ve to make a prediction: 0-2.

While the quadruple no longer has just to be a dream, this could truly be the season of The Special One!