Yeah, you saw it right. It’s a Monday evening kick-off. The most crucial period for Avram Grant starts from this match. We have Everton away on Thursday and then Liverpool, Man Utd and Liverpool to follow. We have a full squad except the keepers so I believe we can play the not-so-first-choice players against Wigan.

In a way it’s good to play on Monday. We’d have known the Man Utd vs Arsenal result on Sunday. I know at this stage the best we can do is to just win matches without looking at what other teams do. Knowing the result up front could help us in choosing the balance of the team, that is, if we want to. The players might want to play all these crucial matches even though they are in quick succession. It’s Grant’s decision making time now.

I’ve been lobbying for 4-4-2 for many weeks now. But this time around, considering the number of key matches we have in a short period of time, I’d go for a 4-3-3 so that Anelka and Drogba can be rested. We need both these strikers fully fit and ready to for the Liverpool and Man Utd games. Who will then play as the striker? It should be Kalou. I wish I could see Sheva playing but I don’t want to insult this legend. No point in starting him for this Wigan match and not playing him in the big matches to come. With all the news about his pleading with Milan and Galliani’s announcement about signing Sheva, he may not be in the right frame of mind to play. We can’t take that risk now, as in the current run-in, we need just one bad match to end our hopes.

We have a complete squad to choose from. As we are playing at Stamford Bridge, I would surely go for some second choice players, who would be first teamers in other premier league teams. In defence, I’ll have Alex, Carvalho, Ferreira and Bridge. In midfield, it will be Ballack, Mikel and Essien. In attack, Kalou should be supported by SWP and Malouda. We should have a strong bench just in case things go pear shaped.

We just need a win with as minimum fuss as possible. No fatigue, no injuries, no cards, just a three-pointer. More goals would help the confidence but that’s only a bonus. All that I want to see is a simple win but deserving one. I don’t think anyone is very particular about our playing style at this stage of the season, except Kenyon.

From nowhere, Peter Kenyon has hit the headlines with his remark on our quality of football. When asked about if we are on course to what we wanted to achieve, he has reportedly said:

I don’t think that it is where we want to be but everybody still wants to improve.

Normally, Peter Kenyon does a lot of justice to his job. He is a typical diplomat who uses his words quite carefully and to see him clarify to the press that ‘we are not there yet’ seems to be a surprise. But the problem with the press is, they make up the question with the given answer. So I’m not sure if the question to Kenyon was about the performance or results or style.

If we have to trust Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck’s words, the next few weeks would determine if Grant would stay for the next season.

I think it is a yes or no question and I am not going to give you a yes or no answer. Avram has a multi-year contract and he`s our manager. Having said that, every manager at every club is judged by results. We thought that when you change managers, you have to have some re-building. So we are unbelievably happy that we are here, where we are now. We wished we had beaten Barnsley and Tottenham and whatever, but I think we are reasonably happy with where we are now. That`s the name of the game, results, and right now Avram`s results are very good so he`s our manager.

Clearly, he cannot confirm that Grant would be our manager next season. That’s great news!

Few days back, I had written about Chelsea lacking good match winners when compared to previous seasons. Now the PFA award nominations are further confirming my belief. First up, I think the nominations are highly skewed but even if I’ve to put a Chelsea player for the PFA award, I don’t think I can name anyone from Chelsea this season who would deserve this award. By the way, the nominations are Cristiano Ronaldo, Steven Gerrard, Fernando Torres, Cesc Fabregas, Emmanuel Adebayor and David James. Most probably and deservingly Ronaldo would win it. I wonder how Gerrard gets nominated for every bloody award even when he is ordinary.

On Sunday Man Utd host Arsenal in what would be the match that could put Chelsea in firm command of the league title. Wenger is desperate to win this match. If Arsenal wins this match, they could be in with a decent chance for the title hoping Chelsea would beat Man Utd at Stamford Bridge. Unless the Arsenal players show some passion and determination, I see Man Utd coming off with a win. I truly feel that one of the reasons why Arsenal collapsed in thi s dramatic fashion was their 0-4 drubbing at Old Trafford. Man Utd have the ammunition to inflict such a damage again if Arsenal start without self-belief. If Arsenal wins, Chelsea would be the biggest beneficiary of the result than Arsenal themselves. I’ll have to cheer the hypocrites for once. C’mon Arsenal!

At kick off, if we know that we’d be on level points with Man Utd if we win, that’s going to be a great feeling for the players and fans alike. My prediction for the Wigan match is a comfortable 2-0. Wigan have not managed even a single point at Stamford Bridge for the last 23 years and that record should remain.