Not Chelsea's best performance,But it was the three points that really counted.

Chelsea 1-0 Middlesbrough

The Blues cut Manchester United's lead at the top of the Barclays Premier League table to five points.
Portuguese defender Ricardo Carvalho scored the only goal in the sixth minute as Avram Grant's side moved back above Arsenal into second place.
Chelsea missed a host of opportunities to increase their lead but Middlesbrough fought hard for an equaliser and Brazilian striker Afonso Alves hit the post and the crossbar in the second half, with David Wheater also heading against the bar.

Avram Grant was happy to admit it was not our best performance in overcoming Middlesbrough, but.....More

Blue Boy Anelka...

Anelka happy to be rotated..

Nicolas Anelka says he is happy to sacrifice his place in the starting line-up for the good of the team,When you play at Chelsea the most important thing is to win games..

Anelka found himself on the bench against Arsenal last Sunday as two goals from Didier Drogba gave Avram Grant's side a crucial victory over their title rivals.

And the former Real Madrid, Arsenal and Liverpool frontman has revealed he would have no problems sitting on the bench again in Sunday's encounter with Middlesbrough at Stamford Bridge, so long as his team picked up the three points.

"Sometimes you play and sometimes you don't," said Anelka. "You have to accept it as a group and realise that the most important thing is that the team wins something.

"There are so many games in a season at Chelsea and everyone will have the chance to contribute.

"I don't think about being a starter - of course I want to play - but I want to help the team win things in the first place, that is the main thing I think about.

"When you play at Chelsea the most important thing is to win games as a team. Now we are in the final moments of the season and we have to win, so if I can do anything to help the team do that, I will do it."

Chelsea Vs Middlesbrough (Sun 30th March..@Bridge )

Boro have traditionally not enjoyed their visits to the Bridge. Chelsea club historian Rick Glanvill and club statistician Paul Dutton assess Chelsea's chances of continuing the misery.

Rick spots opponents who have been no pushovers on the road this season.
After last week's dramatic rally against the Gunners, the odds on Avram Grant and his side scooping the Premier League are shorter than namesake Chelsea Harbour winning the Grand National on 5 April.
At this stage of the season, what title-chasers like is to face opposition like Aintree no-hoper Always Waining - someone with nothing to play for. Unfortunately Boro, who according to the table should be your classic mid-table, towels-already-on-the-beach fodder, will be no pushover come Sunday lunchtime.

Before Chelsea's eclipsing of Fabregas and co last weekend Boro were the sole side to beat the Gunners, 2-1 in mid-December. And for more than an hour in the recent return fixture at the Emirates, until Toure's late equaliser, former Arsenal youngster Jeremie Aliadière's goal kept Boro ahead of the then leaders. That was the Frenchman's third goal in six league games.

A week earlier Stewart Downing scored early and earned an equally creditable draw at Villa, and Boro pushed Liverpool all the way at Anfield in a 2-3 defeat a month ago.

Last weekend it was Aliadière's strike partner Tuncay Sanli who scored the winner against Derby, in terrible weather conditions. As one observer put it, the game meant 'the side with the third worst goalscoring record in the Premier League beat the side with the worst goalscoring record'.

But Boro's maligned attack has done enough to secure important points and secure their top-flight status. The excellent understanding between Aliadière and Tuncay has been one of the reasons January's record-signing Afonso Alves has yet to open his account. The £12m Brazilian has only started one league game to date.

There are signs that other areas are functioning better now under Gareth Southgate than during Boro's difficult first few months of the season. Back in October Didier Drogba opened the scoring after eight minutes and Chelsea were rarely threatened before Alex's memorable long-range strike as the hour approached. Drogba, by the way, has scored seven goals in his last nine Premier League matches, stretching back to that match.

Tall, powerful England Under-21 defender David Wheater's rise under the tutelage of former national team centre-back is no real surprise, and he won a call-up to Fabio Capello's initial 30-man senior squad as further reward after signing a new three-year deal at the Riverside in February.

Robert Huth, plagued by injury since he waved goodbye to the Chelsea crowd as a buggy-driving title-winner, has been playing regularly recently and scored a vital late equaliser in the northeast at St James' Park last month. He may have recovered from an ankle injury in time to make a welcome return this weekend.

Sanli's goal against Derby was set-up by George Boateng, who always seems to find an extra gear - or stud, or elbow - against Chelsea. If Boro line up in the same way they did so successfully at the Emirates, Boateng will again be a key figure.

Against Arsène Wenger's 'near to perfection' team, Boateng and his right-sided midfield colleague Gary O'Neil, along with the feisty Wheater and Huth, knew that one slight spanner in their opponents' over-complicated machine, and the whole production line halted. Wiry Egyptian Mohammed Shawky has impressed too, and may retain his place alongside Boateng over Lee Cattermole.

Given that Chelsea's play lacks the over-elaboration of Arsenal's and that Mido and Fabio Rochemback are suspended, Southgate may change formation from 4-4-2 to the 4-5-1 he has used with mixed results in the past, attempting to thwart Chelsea's powerful midfield.

He will also be expecting England wideman Downing and O'Neil to deliver crosses to exploit Chelsea's unexpected vulnerability in the box recently.

However they line up this will be a battle. Gareth Southgate's side have an away record this season that is superior to that of Spurs and equal to Man City's. They have only scored four goals fewer than Liverpool on their travels.

Yet Boro have a daunting record at Stamford Bridge to overturn in this match. They haven't scored at the Bridge since September 2001 and it is 33 years since they last left the Fulham Road with all the points. That day in 1975, Jack Charlton's high-rollers had new signing Terry Copper dismissed by referee Ted Jolly early in the second half. Jolly good job too, because it might have been five or six had he not, rather than 2-1.

Rampant Boro also had two goals disallowed, and controlled the match even after Chelsea's goal - left-back John Sparrow's first for the club, a header from a Charlie Cooke cross - made it appear a close game. Chelsea were four points from safety that day, hesitant and lacking confidence. Come May the Blues were relegated for the first time in 13 years.

That was Boro's first win at the Bridge for ten years, so they have clearly never fancied the West End very much. Arsenal will empathise with that as they travel up to the traditional graveyard of their vanities, Bolton, on Saturday for a 3pm kick-off. Manchester United will know the result of that game before they kick off at home against unpredictable Aston Villa that evening.


CHELSEA V MIDDLESBROUGH - Paul Dutton number crunches ahead of the visit by Gareth Southgate's team.

Chelsea are hoping to extend our unbeaten run against Middlesbrough at Stamford Bridge to 19 games in 33 years including an amazing 14 clean sheets.


More @ www.chelseafc.com

CHELSEA TV EXCLUSIVE: COLE PREDICTS POSITIVE CHELSEA

Sat, 22nd Mar 2008
Joe Cole has predicted a hungry and focused set of players at training today (Saturday) as the final preparations are made for tomorrow's big London derby.

'I am sure by Saturday the Spurs game will be completely forgotten and everyone will be excited by Sunday's game,' the England man told Chelsea TV in an exclusive interview.

'It is another exciting game to look forward to and there is too much resting on it to have any sort of hangover from Wednesday. We are in striking distance of Arsenal and we can go on from there.'

Despite Arsenal's attacking reputation, Cole, twice a scorer against Tottenham, believes it will be Chelsea pushing most for goals come kick-off at Stamford Bridge.

'Arsenal always come to play football but I think they will be a little more cautious than usual. After four draws, they can't afford to lose it.

'They will be as cautious as Arsenal can be and we are the home side so the onus is on us to break them down. I hope it will be an open game but not quite as open as Tottenham!

'You have to defend well against Arsenal. They move the ball so quickly you have to be concentrated and go with their runners. At the same time, we have to go out there and win the game.

'We all go through difficult times and this is Arsenal's difficult period. They will be wanting to bounce back against us and show what a good side they are.

'If we were to win on Sunday, it will make things very interesting.'


Bookmakers Paddy Power are offering 13/2 on Joe Cole to score and Chelsea to win the match.