The beginning of a tough set of fixtures have begun for us now, starting with Leicester City today, then Manchester City during the week, and then Tottenham the same weekend, not to mention the Aston Villa game away from home, whom we’ve had major problems with form-wise away from home in recent years.
The good thing however, is that Roberto Di Matteo could not have asked for the perfect start during his short tenure as interim manager. Especially when our old guard, Didier Drogba, John Terry and Frank Lampard slapped their names on the scoresheet to revive our Champions League status with the impressive 4-1 win over Napoli at Stamford Bridge, and it’s those types of victories that are big enough to bring back the confidence in the team, steady the ship, and… maybe, just maybe, catch Arsenal and snatch 4th place. But they are going to take some stopping, especially when Robin van Persie is not disappointing Arsene Wenger in terms of scoring goals.
But today sees us play Leicester at the Bridge, in hopes that we can secure our 3rd successive semi-final in 4 years. I believe with the right mentality, and the right tactical approach, we can overwhelm our visitors and fight on in the rest of the competition.
The way the season has gone for us as a whole, particulary during the times of AVB, I don’t think we’re the favourites to win the trophy because Tottenham are still in the competition, and Liverpool are starting to find their feet under Kenny Dalglish.. BUT.. we ARE capable of winning big games, as we saw in the game against Napoli.
What does seem to linger at the back of my mind however, is that when AVB managed his first game in August, his team went on to be unbeaten in 5 matches before Manchester United beat us 3-1 at Old Trafford, so REALLY.. Di Matteo still needs a few more games to prove that he is the real deal. Generally however, It’s going to be an interesting couple of weeks for us. We need to keep fighting like we have been doing in the games against Birmingham, Stoke and Napoli. The players are fired up now, so there will be no excuse for defeat today.
One final thing I must say before I finish this blog. My thoughts and prayers go out to Fabrice Muamba, who is fighting for his life after he collapsed during yesterday’s Bolton match away to Tottenham. He is currently in a “stable” condition, and in this case, I hope and pray for his recovery, and my condolences are with his family at their very difficult time.
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My Chelsea team to face Leicester: Cech; Bosingwa, Ivanovic, Cahill, Bertrand; Ramires, Mikel, Lampard; Sturridge, Torres, Mata
Subs: Hilario, Cole, Romeu, Essien, Malouda, Kalou, Drogba
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