Middlesbrough are a good team. I love watching them play. They play a very open and attacking type of football. Especially when they play the top four teams, they find a lot of enery and motivation that they will even threaten the biggies. The worst result under Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea was against Middlesbrough at the Riverside stadium. It was a 3-0 win for Boro. How many teams have beaten a Jose Mourinho’s team with a 3-0 scoreline? I will never take Boro lightly. They can be bloody dangerous on their day, especially at the Riverside. So, that’s Boro.

Now, over to Chelsea. Who do we have for tricky away match? Essien, Carvalho, Deco, Ashley Cole, Joe Cole, John Terry, Anelka, Drogba, Bosingwa, Cech .If you think is a probable playing eleven, you’re not following the news. This one would be the missing eleven. Who else would play then? We have a couple of in-form players in Lampard and Ballack. I didn’t see Malouda’s name in the list, did I? So he could be in. Ivanovic should play. Alex would be there as well. Bridge would do well in place of Ashley Cole. In the right back, it should be Belletti. I now can’t think of a Bosingwaless Chelsea but I rate and respect Belletti a lot. Mikel and Kalou should be allowed ot steal the limelight. Franco should get in and trust me he would score. And well, it should be nice to see Carlo on goal. Now that’s my eleven. Will you bother me to pick the bench too? Practically, anyone else who can stand on their feet qualify for the bench.

We could play 4-3-3 and I’m not sure if we could play with the same approach that has sent shivers across. I think much will depend on the first 15-20 minutes. Boro this season have not conceded a goal in the first half. Chelsea gets more and more rusty if the goal looks distant and difficult. On the other hand, if we score early, we could be in for a treat. The team that plays on Saturday has so many second choice players who would be keen in putting a strong performance for Scolari. With January approaching, lot of these players would be too keen to get on the pitch. For someone like Franco di Santo, there can’t be a better opportunity. Drogba and Anelka are injured out. Scolari can also play Kalou as the lone striker and put Malouda and Joe Cole on either sides which would mean a subs place for Franco di Santo. That would be sad. I’d pick Franco ahead of Joe Cole for this match.

A good result here could be a further confirmation of how strong Chelsea is, what depth the squad has, how we are still the favourites and the team to beat. The so-called second string Chelsea team does have a lot of players who can start for many other good premier league teams. But the issue here is not the individual capability of these players, it is their ability to play together as a team. See, even if you play an ordinary set of players always together for a long period of time, they’ll get better as a team. On the other hand, now matter how talended the individuals are, if they don’t have enough playing time together, it would be difficult. For instance, in how many matches have you seen this combination – Cudicini, Belletti, Alex, Ivanovic and Bridge? What kind of understanding and communication would they have, when they first get together in a premier league match?

Okay, I could be exaggerating a bit about our injury situation here. The some of them from the missing players list could get better and be available for the match. Still it’s a very tricky match. After this one, we host Liverpool on 26th of April. If we can beat Boro, the match against Pool at Stamford Bridge could be the one where we kick them down from the top of the table. Oh wait, Torres would be missing the next three matches including the match at the Bridge! If Wigan can play as well as they did against us, Liverpool would get knocked off the joint-top spot.

Before I forget, good news from Russia. Roman Abramovich has won as an independant candidate in the Chukotka region in the recent elections. He got 97% votes polled in his favour. That’s crazily unbelievable. It’s even scandalous! Anyway, Roman’s done a lot of things for Chukotka region in the capacity of governor and otherwise, so that’s people’s way of showing their gratitude. Amidst rumours that he lost some hundred millions in the recent financial crisis, there is something to cheer for Roman. Oh well, he also has a series of fantastic Chelsea performances to cheer about!

To all those guys that have given their xbox live ID – I’ve added you all as my friends in xbox live. I have also invited you to the new football club ‘BlueChampions’. You can join and pick the centre back and full back roles while I play the striker ;-) Also I played two of you last night in online games. It was fun. It was a relief to play a friend rather than some unknown kid who wants ranks and points than fun and enjoyment.

Back to this match now. I expect a 2-0 win for Chelsea. Also Liverpool to draw with Wigan and Rafa to complain about internationals. Arsenal to hold Everton and Wenger to moan about Everton’s physical approach. Man Utd to zip past West Brom with a heavy scoreline which might include a hard earned penalty by Ronaldo. Newcastle to hold Man City with a mighty spirited performance. I’m waiting for that debut goal from Franco di Santo!