The first game is always the important game. Some managers might say that the next game is always the most important. I’m very particular about starting this premier league on a positive note. The match against Portsmouth would also be the first competitive Chelsea match for Scolari. Man Utd are injury-hit. Arsenal are transfer-hit. Liverpool wouldn’t know what hit them but they will be hit. Chelsea have a great chance of grabbing a lead in the first few matches. For that, we should win the first match comfortably, to set the tone. Our performance in the first match should put fear into the minds of our rival managers. Fergie should come out crying ‘Chelsea are older than me, they can’t win’.

The formation I’d choose would be 4-2-3-1. That is 4 defenders, 2 central midfielders (NOT defensive midfielders), 3 attacking midfielders and a striker. I’d choose the strongest possible eleven so that we start with a bang. While all our opponents are weak, we should make the best of this opportunity to race away with a lead. Remember, Essien will not play on Sunday. Bosingwa has recovered but I would not expect him to start. Deco might play. I’ve assumed here that he would play.

The reason why I think Deco would play is because he said this:

Yeah, I am excited because it will be a good experience. We have had many training sessions and pre-season games, which have been very good. I had a little problem last week but now I am okay. I want to start well at Chelsea, and make sure we win.

In defence, Terry, Carvalho, Ashley and Belletti. I’d love to give that starting place to Wayne Bridge but for all those crucial matches if I don’t want to take any chances, I’d go for Ashley Cole. Wayne Bridge is good in going forward and he is also a bit quicker than Ashley Cole but when it comes to the bread and butter of that left back role, there are very few better names in Europe than Ashley Cole. In central defence, when Terry and Carvalho are fit, we don’t need to have any further discussion. I feel sorry for Alex. It’s no fun being second choice to Terry/Carvalho. One is the captain and the other is our best defender. I’m choosing Belletti over Ferreira, purely on form, capability, consistenct and experience. I think I’ve made it quite clear. In my world, I’ll give Bosingwa the starting place only for him to prove that he is better than Belletti. In other words, unlike the left back position, the right back role for me is still quite open.

In midfield, I’ll have Mikel and Ballack as the central midfielders, Lampard as the left attacking midfielder, Joe Cole as the right attacking midfielder and Deco as the central attacking midfielder. The formation would 4-2-3-1. Deco should be the one who sits behind the centre forwards. I think he is the best suited for this role. He has adapted quite nicely into this league and also into the team. He has already shown us the glimpse of his genius. It’s better to put Deco where we can get the best out of him. Mikel and Ballack are in central midfield and not defensive midfield. I don’t want to see a defensive midfielder because by now, we should have one of the best defences in the premier league and a top goalkeeper. I don’t think they need additional protection from a holding midfielder. Moreover, Essien and Ballack always play for the team and they do chip in if required.

I want to see the free Frank Lampard after all his distractions are gone. Deco thinks that he can play alongside Lampard quite well and more than that he says how much he admires Lampard:

Frank is a symbol of the club – he is a great, great player. One of the best players in the world I think, and he is important for the club, and it is important for him. We can play well together; to play with him is easy. He is a great player, and that makes it simple.

Yup, he nailed it there. Frank Lampard is a symbol of the club!

Coming back to this match’s tactics, the attacks on the wings will have to be from the wing backs. I don’t expect Mikel/Ballack to charge down the wings. When the wing backs are attacking in the flanks, I expect the side midfielders (Lampard/Joe Cole) to guard the flank area unless the situation demands otherwise. Joe Cole and Deco will have to participate in each and every attack. Do you get this feeling that the best partnership Deco can have at Chelsea would be with Joe Cole? I think so. You read it here first. Deco and Joe Cole are gonna be great partners in attack. Deco might have a free role in terms of which side of the pitch he plays. It might change according to the situations. In short, Ballack and Mikel will be just midfielders while Deco and Ballack orchestrate the attacks with or without the help of the wing backs.

In attack, I’ll have Anelka. That does not mean he is my first choice player. I’ll play Anelka because Drogba is under rehab, Sheva is still injured, Kalou is in Olympics and Pizarro’s gone. I’m almost tempted to give Franco di Santo his Chelsea debut. Surely, if I were LFS, I’d surely bring this boy in the second half. Let Anelka play as the striker, a role in which he wants to play. So he is not at left or right, it is centre forward and the lone striker. With some fantastic attacking midfielders behind him and some exciting full backs charging down the pitch, Anelka must score. As a typical quality centre forward, he should score as soon as he gets a chance. I’m not even expecting him to convert half-chances into goals, like Torres does. When Anelka gets a genuine chance, he should score, no excuses.

I hope you know that from this season in premier league, teams can have seven substitutes (instead of five before) in the bench. The number of allowed subs is still three though. The seven subs that I’d name for this match are Cudicini, Ivanovic, Bosingwa, di Santo, Malouda, SWP and Sinclair.

Scolari said this about the upcoming match:

I saw many Premier League games in pre-season. If you say one team or two teams [can win it] I think you are wrong because I saw a minimum eight teams play very well. Sure not only Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester United and Liverpool. Forget it. Tottenham and Portsmouth are strong teams. Many teams can play for first position until sixth position. Here it is a different challenge, all the games are important and difficult. Not in the other leagues where you play 20 games, 15 games you win. Here, never! One game you say I will win, I am not sure. This is the excitement. Every day, every game, every week you have a new challenge. This week Portsmouth play 4-4-2 and have six players 1.9 metres and above, next week the other team have four players who are very fast. England is different from other leagues.

Now, let’s talk a little bit about Portsmouth. They were deserved losers to Man Utd last week. They are a decent side but I think Crouch’s arrival is offset by Muntari’s exit. Defoe has been a better player since he moved on to Portsmouth. They also have a couple of ex-Chelsea names in Lassana Diarra and Glen Johnson both of whom missed the penalties in the community shield match. They might be a good team back at Fratton Park but at Stamford Bridge, there’s never been a struggle. Portsmouth would never scare me as they lack the quality or the cutting edge when they play against quality teams like Chelsea.

Prediction: I’ll go for a healthy 2-0 win for Chelsea. Let me be arrogant and say that we’d hardly be troubled by their attacks. We’ll be too much for Portsmouth to handle.