When the draw for the FA Cup fourth round was made, QPR V Chelsea was accompanied by a sharp intake of breath and the realisation that we all have to start talking about ‘that incident’ again. Therefore, the column inches are inadvertently devoted to an argument which will be played out in the courts, rather than the sport which will be played on Loftus Road.

One of the key men who will be suited and booted at various times over the next month, John Terry, is expected to play on Saturday, no doubt amidst a cacophony of boos from the home faithful. Anton Ferdinand should play a part in the match too, regardless of whether he decides to shake Terry’s hand or show him how he really feels at some point during the ninety minutes.

Remarkably, there will also be twenty other players on the pitch at the start of the game, but Chelsea will be without Frank Lampard – the prolific midfielder misses out with a calf tear. Salomon Kalou and Didier Drogba are on African Cup of Nations duty, with the two combining well as the former scored in the Elephants’ 2-0 win over Burkina Faso on Thursday.

QPR have a new manager in place after the sacking of Neil Warnock – a decision which was met with absolute shock and dismay from Warnock himself, and pure unadulterated joy from everyone else in the entire world who will no longer have to tolerate his weekly displays of incompetence. Mark Hughes is now at the helm, but he could be without five key players on Saturday; Danny Gabiddon, Matthew Connolly, DJ Campbell, Jay Bothroyd and Akos Buzsaky are all doubtful.

While Terry was busy allegedly disgracing himself back in October during the first league meeting between the two sides since 1996, Chelsea were struggling to contend with some awful refereeing and a spirited QPR side, eventually going down 1-0 after an early Heidar Helguson goal. Drogba and Jose Bosingwa were both sent off in the first-half. The two sides also met in the Carling Cup in 2009, with Kalou scoring the only goal of the game, and in the FA Cup in January 2008, with Chelsea again winning 1-0 – QPR goalkeeper Lee Camp scoring an own goal. The last time there were more than three goals scored in a match between the two London rivals was back in a 2-2 draw in September 1991.

Everyone’s favourite Wirral-based referee, Mike Dean, will be the man in the middle at Loftus Road. He has reffed three Chelsea games – all of them wins – this season, including the 4-1 victory over Swansea in which Fernando Torres – or, ‘The Hapless’ Fernando Torres to give him his full name – was shown a straight red for an erratic two-footed challenge on Mark Gower. It is Dean’s only red card of the season so far. Dean is yet to officiate QPR in the top-flight, but he is fresh off the back of the meeting between Arsenal and Manchester United, in which he brandished seven yellow cards.

Discipline will be a major issue in this match too, but who will make a worse impression: the players or the fans? We can hope that Sunday’s headlines are about a Torres masterclass, a resounding Chelsea win, or even a narrow 1-0 win from a scruffy finish, but we all know they won’t be. Let’s instead hope that we are able to rise above the hate below, and enjoy the football. Anyone care to guess on the odds of that happening?

Calling it a defeat is an understatement, actually. It was a reality check, a humbling, a display of weakness. It was a middle of the road, under-performing, generally mediocre Aston Villa side using their guile to completely catch supposed title challengers Chelsea unawares. It was a team who wanted the win against a side which has forgotten how to win.

Goals from Stephen Ireland – a man left in the cold for most of his Villa career due to what often appears to be a general sense of apathy towards the game, who nevertheless felt that this particular game would be the one in which he could show what he is really made of – Stiliyan Petrov and Darren Bent poured scorn upon what was supposed to be the foundation for a Chelsea win, a first-half Didier Drogba penalty. Drogba had been the victim of a clumsy Richard Dunne trip, and his spot-kick was neatly dispatched past Villa ‘keeper Brad Guzan.

But frustration was the theme of the day for all in blue, and matches both home and away seem to be following the same lacklustre pattern. Juan Mata will happily run with the ball into the danger area, look up, and find absolutely no support in the middle; Drogba will line up a free-kick outside of the box, but blaze his shot high and wide over the bar; someone will make a ridiculous defensive error which lets an opposition player through for a one-on-one with Petr Cech; Fernando Torres…whatever.

All of this happened again at the Bridge. Charles N’Zogbia’s direct run down the left-hand side troubled the Chelsea defence, and he was able to pick out Ireland in the middle who saw his initial shot blocked on the line by John Terry. Inexplicably, in a crowded box, Ireland was the first to react to the rebound, slotting past Terry for the equaliser.

After Gabby Agbonlahor had an aforementioned one-on-one saved after being allowed the freedom of Chelsea’s half, more gaps appeared at the back as the home side pushed forward in the hope for a second goal. Petrov was afforded to much space and did what Agbonlahor couldn’t do, firing past Cech. Then, just minutes later, and with five minutes left of the match, Ireland broke through the transparent Chelsea defence and unselfishly squared for a similarly unmarked Bent whose weak shot was able to evade Cech, despite the ‘keeper getting his legs in the way.

And this is a Premier League side, making the same mistakes game upon game, relying on the same tired tactics and finding themselves now continually falling short of success. Finding themselves unable to break through and create clear-cut chances against the likes of Villa, Fulham and most likely Wolverhampton Wanderers on Monday. Finding themselves picked off on the counter-attack by the exact same clubs and conceding as many goals at home as 18th placed Wigan Athletic.

Following the match, Chelsea dropped down to 5th place in the Premier League, overtaken by Arsenal and on the same number of points as Liverpool. Happy new year? Time will tell.

Now, with Manchester City visiting the Bridge on Monday, a previously worrying prospect has turned into the mouth-watering spectacle it should be.

City lead the Premier League table after fourteen matches played, ten points ahead of Chelsea, with an unbeaten record so far this league campaign. However, their first foray into the Champions League ended abruptly last week, which proved that the expected world-beaters in City’s ranks are not quite ready to take on all challengers just yet; they are now forced to be content with the ugly stepsister, the Europa League.

Eye-catching is too tame an adjective for the majority of City’s performances so far this season though. Their starting eleven often resembles a young FIFA 12 fan’s wet dream, with the likes of Sergio Aguero, the almost Zola-esque David Silva, Edin Dzeko and Yaya Toure firmly establishing themselves into the upper echelons of the Premier League’s fraternity. Aleksandar Kolarov is a long-term injury doubt, while Micah Richards may struggle to make Monday’s match, but City should be able to cope with these absentees, such is the immense strength of their squad.

Chelsea will be without David Luiz – suspended after accumulating five yellow cards this season – which may actually be quite handy, as one imagines that if the similarly tempestuous Mario Balotelli starts for City, neither would last for very long on the pitch. Drogba will be looking to build on Tuesday’s rejuvenating and match-winning start with another similar stunner on Monday, while Andre Villas-Boas needs to decide whether Frank Lampard deserves a start after he missed out against Valencia.

Manchester City have held the advantage over Chelsea in recent matches between the two sides, with three wins from the last four, but the Blues were successful in the last meeting at Stamford Bridge. Luiz and Ramires both scored late on as Chelsea ran out 2-0 winners, earning almost 60% of possession in the process. Memorably, the 2007/08 match saw City ship six, with goals coming from Michael Essien, Drogba (two), Joe Cole, Salomon Kalou, and even Andriy Shevchenko.

Mark Clattenburg will be the referee on Monday, fresh from Champions League duty where he oversaw Lyon’s 7-1 away win at Dynamo Zagreb. He showed a red card in that match, his fourth of the season, with previous recipients including Jonny Evans, sent off during Manchester United’s 6-1 drubbing at the hands of City. Clattenburg has also refereed City in a 2-2 draw at Fulham this season; he has yet to make an appearance at Stamford Bridge until Monday night, although in two games there last season, Chelsea beat West Brom 6-0 and Blackpool 4-0.

If the Blues had not beaten Valencia so comfortably on Tuesday, it’s probably fair to say that not many Chelsea fans would have been so eagerly anticipating the visit of City. However, with morale boosted across SW6, Roberto Mancini’s team will arrive as equals, rather than the fêted demigods they have been made out to be.

City, we accept your challenge. May the best team win.

Following the defeat against Liverpool on Sunday, John Obi Mikel – who was dispensed with at half-time during that match – and Florent Malouda were left out of the starting XI this time around, while Fernando Torres also remained firmly rooted to the bench as Daniel Sturridge and Drogba were preferred alongside Juan Mata at the point of Chelsea’s attack. Raul Meireles was also recalled, while his opposite number in the Bayer Leverkusen side, Michael Ballack, took to the field wearing a similar face mask to that of Petr Cech, who recently broke his nose and now seems determined to cover up every inch of his head like a giant luchadore wrestler.

After some – in polite terms – dodgy performances in recent weeks, Andres Villas-Boas would have been keen for his defence to stay rigid and impenetrable from the offset. Other than one headed chance from Ballack which looped over his tag-team partner Cech, only to rebound back off the crossbar, the Blues’ manager’s strategy worked. Unfortunately, it saw creativity suffer at the other end.

A Frank Lampard free-kick from around 35 yards almost summed up the fruits of Chelsea’s very laboured labours in the first-half – his effort was wild and desperate as it swung high into the stand behind the Leverkusen goal.

However, the away side did improve, and created three decent chances as the first 45 expired. Drogba rounded Leverkusen ‘keeper Bernd Leno before firing over; Mata volleyed straight at Leno after a neat flick from Sturridge; and the young English striker himself also muddied the gloves of the home side’s shot-stopper with a curled effort from the edge of the box.

Leverkusen, meanwhile, were stoic at the back but ridiculously blunt at the other end. It was almost as if the pre-match team-talk was cut short after the defensive instructions were dished out, with Ballack just deciding that the best attacking tactics would be for everyone to pass to him so that he could try and score against his former team.

But the first goal came from Chelsea, just after the break. Sturridge was the key man, finding Drogba who used his immense strength to hold the ball up and turn swiftly like a mechanical bull, before swinging the ball into the corner of the Leverkusen goal.

The German side looked to hit back, with Cech the thorn in their side as he superbly saved from Ballack (twice) and Stefan Kiessling, but Sturridge was proving to be extremely lively on the counter, as his boyish speed enabled him to carve out half-chances against a bewildered Leverkusen defence.

Speaking of boyish, the sometimes naïve (again, to be polite) David Luiz was replaced by the more dependable Alex as the Blues looked to consolidate their narrow lead with around twenty minutes of the match left to play. Leverkusen also shook up their personnel, and the introduction of the Swiss striker Eren Derdiyok did indeed shake up the game.

The Chelsea backline allowed a swinging low ball across the edge of their own box, and an unmarked Sidney Sam (a great name for a secret agent) was able to evade the onrushing Cech – the only man who seemed to notice Sam – collect the ball and send a cross over to the back post, where Derdiyok was waiting to head home for the equaliser.

Drogba provided some theatrics in an attempt to win a penalty soon after, but although there was contact in the box, no lifeline was awarded for the now chasing Chelsea.

And their woes continued as Leverkusen netted at the start of injury-time, with Friedrich heading home from a Gonzalo Castro corner. It proved to be the winner.

With Valencia winning handsomely against Genk, a Leverkusen win here leaves Group E looking extremely tight, with a crucial final day approaching. For the winners, Champions League progression; the vanquished will ‘earn’ a spot in the Europa League. In this form, Chelsea would be lucky to win an Intertoto Cup match.

arsenal, ashley cole

A poor second-half cost Chelsea dear against Arsenal in an enthralling London derby which saw eight goals during a mad ninety minutes. Goals from Frank Lampard, John Terry and Juan Mata were not enough, as the away side profited from strikes by Robin van Persie – who netted a hat-trick – Andre Santos and Theo Walcott, as well as some shocking Chelsea defending. It wasn’t quite an 8-2 or 6-1 defeat, but it felt just as bad.

Chelsea were able to call upon the services of Fernando Torres for his first Premier League outing since he scored and got himself sent-off against Swansea last month. David Luiz – responsible for a few defensive errors in the QPR defeat a week ago – dropped to the bench, with Branislav Ivanovic preferred alongside John Terry in the centre of defence.

But strong defenders seemed absent at the beginning of the match, with both sides enjoying freedom in the opposing final third. Ashley Cole was able to get in behind Johan Djourou on a couple of occasions, only to see nothing come of the final ball.

Similarly, Theo Walcott teased a couple of crosses into the box early on, finding Gervinho with an easy ball and Robin van Persie with a slightly trickier one. The former – inexcusably – slid the ball wide, while the latter volleyed over while Petr Cech appeared to bemoan a lack of protection from his wayward defenders.

Despite these lapses, the Blues continued to push on, and their attacking ambition soon paid off. Juan Mata collected the ball near the byline on the right-hand side of the pitch, cut the ball back, and whipped in a left-footed cross, aiming for the penalty spot. The onrushing Lampard, marshalled by Per Mertesacker until the German defender crucially and cruelly slipped, stooped to head home past a rooted Wojciech Szczęsny in the Arsenal goal.

The opener came with the run of play, although the away side did appear threatening when they fought back, creating some dangerous chances without really threatening the scoreline. Chelsea continued to lead in the possession stakes with some neat interplay, and half-chances from Cole and Daniel Sturridge followed.

But it was possession for the sake of it, and a cutting edge was missing. Thus, it was no surprise when Arsenal hit back for an equaliser with ten minutes of the first-half to play. A good spell of keep-ball saw Aaron Ramsey slide an insightful ball through to Gervinho, who broke the offside trap and found himself with only Cech to beat. Unselfishly, the Ivorian striker played the ball left to his team-mate van Persie, who finished into an empty net.

Chelsea looked to go ahead again immediately, but a Ramires cross was turned in by an offside Sturridge, and the goal was rightfully disallowed.

Just before half-time, however, the home side did regain the lead. A Lampard corner was swung in, and met by – who else? – John Terry, who managed to steer his effort just wide of a sprawling Szczęsny and into the corner of the net for 2-1.

Three goals seemed just enough for an opening half which, at times, seemed chaotic and wide open. Neither defence seemed on top, and it appeared to be a case of just aiming to score one more than the opposition for both sides.

There was an early chance for van Persie – who shot straight at Cech from a tight angle – before Torres saw a long-range effort saved soon after. The Spaniard was having one of his isolated spells upfront, but his sharp shot was a reminder of his talents.

Unfortunately, he wasn’t clinical enough, and Chelsea were made to pay for more profligacy. Andre Santos managed to sneak in behind the Blues’ defence, and the left-back – who had looked poor defensively in the first-half – attacked with intent, sending a shot past Cech for another Arsenal equaliser.

Then, seemingly seconds after the restart, the Blues made progress on their own left-side, with Cole rushing on to to a lofted ball, bearing down on the penalty area. Szczęsny sensed danger and came flying out of the box, clattering Cole in the process. Chelsea fans – witnesses to three red-cards inside a week – were shocked to see the goalkeeper only collect a caution for his assault upon the former Arsenal man, Cole. Lampard saw his resulting free-kick parried away.

Chelsea kept looking for openings, but again left spaces at the back. When Walcott collected the ball mid-way into the Blues’ half, and promptly fell over, it appeared as if a chance of an Arsenal attack had been wasted. Somehow, Walcott was allowed to regain his footing, collect the ball, and swivel through four blue shirts to advance into the box. A cool finish followed, and Arsenal led for the first time in the match, a feat which had previously seemed unlikely when Lampard scored the opener early on.

Frustration took over as Chelsea sought a way back into the game. Arsenal stayed stoic at the back as the Blues struggled to penetrate, with Florent Malouda, Romelu Lukaku and Raul Meireles thrown on during the remaining minutes in an attempt to unsettle the away side.

It would need something special, and with ten minutes left on the clock, something special was what the Stamford Bridge fans were given. The ball was played into Mata by Meireles just outside the Arsenal box after a suspect American Football style block-challenge by Lukaku allowed the Portuguese midfielder some ground to run into. Out of nowhere, Mata unleashed a dipping effort which beat Szczęsny all ends up. A magnificent strike befitting of a lively game.

Then the sublime turned into the ridiculous. A hopeful through-ball should have been easily cleared by Terry, but the Chelsea captain slipped, leaving van Persie with a clear run on goal. He side-stepped the challenge from Cech and bagged his second of the game – Arsenal’s fourth. Fitting, perhaps, that with all the dispute over the Stamford Bridge pitch ownership this week, van Persie was awarded with as much ground as he ever wanted for free.

A third goal for the Dutchman late on – a swerving, powerful shot after an incisive break away – rubbed it in even more. Chelsea simply fell apart, and deserved the defeat.

Bolton stay bottom of the Premier League table, while in contrast Chelsea stay in third, just behind the two Manchester sides. The gulf in class showed throughout – bar a short but spirited period in the second-half when Bolton threatened a comeback – and while Lampard was brilliant, stand-in Bolton goalkeeper Adam Bogdan suffered a horrific afternoon.

With the reliable Jussi Jaaskelainen out injured, Coyle turned to the 24 year old Hungarian to keep the Blues at bay. Inside two minutes, he had already conceded. Juan Mata curled in a corner which an unmarked Sturridge met, and the striker confidently headed home.

Chelsea continued to dominate in the opening proceedings, and when Lampard converted a pass from Sturridge after fifteen minutes, the 2-0 lead was exactly what the visitors deserved.

A previous variant of Chelsea may have settled for the pair, but, smelling blood, particularly around Bolton’s left-back area where the sluggish Paul Robinson was given a torrid time by Sturridge, Andres Villas-Boas’ charges continued to twist the knife.

Sturridge was at the heart of Chelsea’s third goal, shooting ambitiously after cutting in from the right-wing. His shot had power and precision, but Bogdan can have no excuses for his failure to save the effort, as he was beaten at his near post after getting weak hands to the ball. Sturridge refused to celebrate a goal against the club who invaluably built up his confidence and reputation with regular starts last season, but it may have also been a gesture borne out of embarrassment as well as nobility.

Bogdan then further cemented his place as Bolton’s number two goalkeeper by poorly parrying a long-distance effort by David Luiz straight into the path of Lampard, who needed no further invitation to add to his and Chelsea’s tally for the day. White-shirted Bolton fans made their way towards the exits for a premature half-time break; Bogdan’s face matched the colour of his striking red hair. 27 minutes gone: Bolton 0-4 Chelsea.

The whistle upon 45 minutes must have come as a welcome relief for Bolton’s shellshocked players, but the restart brought at least a little joy, as the Blues set-piece woes continued for another game at least. Martin Petrov whipped in a free-kick which an unmarked Boyata met to the cheers of the Bolton fans, who noisily continued to hope for an unlikely comeback throughout the majority of the second period.

Bolton did run Chelsea ragged for a short while too, prompting a change from the sidelines as the impressively attacking Jose Bosingwa was replaced by the solidly dependable Branislav Ivanovic.

Chelsea held on though, and managed to regroup and increase their lead. A neat passing move – beginning with Petr Cech – culminated in Didier Drogba – in the side following Fernando Torres’ suspension – finding Lampard in the box. Lampard in the box, particularly against Bolton, rarely misses too.

When Lampard completed his hat-trick, he held up three fingers towards the travelling Chelsea fans. With his cool finish, he emphatically held up two fingers to his recent critics.

Bolton had a late chance cleared off the line by Ivanovic, but the afternoon was all about the compelling Chelsea, the legendary Lampard, and the beleaguered Bolton.

Sir Alex Ferguson’s men have shown their hand already in this league campaign, dispatching their opposition with style and then some. After a shy start away against West Brom, United let loose with a 3-0 win against Spurs and the most recent 5-0 thumping of Bolton; both wins sandwiching the terrifying 8-2 victory at home to Arsenal which saw five different scorers and the first of Wayne Rooney’s two Premier League hat-tricks in 2011/12. A 1-1 Champions League draw in Portugal against Benfica on Wednesday may have slowed the Red Devils’ charge somewhat, but it shouldn’t linger in the minds of Rooney and co for too long.

Tom Cleverley, Nemanja Vidic, Rafael and Danny Welbeck will miss out through injury, while Rio Ferdinand should return to a United backline which has been breached twice so far this season at Old Trafford. Fernando Torres isn’t a Manchester United player, but including him in this paragraph is the safest place to mention him, as it does not take attention away from his Chelsea team-mates, nor does it mean that the entire preview is based on his lack of goals in a Chelsea shirt. United’s reserve ‘keeper Anders Lindegaard promised that he is ready to fight David de Gea for the number one shirt at Old Trafford, emphatically stating: “I’m not here to pick my nose.” He is likely to be digging for green gold on the bench on Sunday, however.

Chelsea’s midweek performance was typical of their start to the season; a 2-0 win based on hard work and a good team ethic securing the points and a mini-morale boost ahead of their trip to the north-west. Juan Mata continued his bubbly start to his Blues career with an excellent performance in a free role, while Raul Meireles continues to prove the sceptics wrong with a dependable game in the middle. John Terry and Frank Lampard have hopefully recovered from the shock of being rested, and are ready to return to the starting XI, however the game should come too soon for the recently concussed Didier Drogba, whose recuperation has not been as speedy as Andre Villa-Boas would have hoped. David Luiz marked his return to the defence with a well-taken goal on Tuesday, taking his tally to three goals in thirteen games, with Manchester United amongst the clubs to have felt his wrath.

Last season saw five meetings between the two clubs, with Chelsea winning just one of these games. A 2-1 win back in March – courtesy of that goal by Luiz, followed by a Lampard penalty – was the only bright spark for Blues fans, as United got the better of Chelsea on their way to the Premier League title and a Community Shield win, plus the Champions League final. The matches have been tight as far as the scoreline goes though, as six out of the last seven games have finished with just a single goal the difference between the sides.

Phil Dowd referees the match on Sunday, and after showing 28 yellow cards in his five games so far this season, David Luiz better look out! He also dished out twelve reds in 38 appearances throughout last season. In three Chelsea matches he officiated last season, the Blues won just one.

Villas-Boas promises he is eyeing a win. The arrogance of youth, or the boast of a man with the utmost faith in his squad? The season won’t be over following the meeting of Manchester United and Chelsea, but it may really get going after all is said and done at Old Trafford on Sunday.

Chelsea continued their warm-up to the new football season with a team consisting of Ross Turnbull, Ashley Cole, Slobodan Rajkovic, John Terry and Paulo Ferreira at the back, with Yossi Benayoun, Lampard and Yuri Zhirkov providing a midfield base behind the front three of Florent Malouda, Salomon Kalou and Drogba.

The champions of Hong Kong, Kitchee, were resplendent in near-fluorescent pink shirts but looked less than bright in the opening exchanges. A lot of their possession was made up of rushed passes and desperate clearances as Chelsea started the game with the intention to attack. Zhirkov troubled the Kitchee ‘keeper Zhen Peng Wang first, sending an impressive first-time volley just wide of the near post following a cleared corner.

Rajkovic looked shaky at the other end, botching a back-pass and escaping the referee’s attentions following a few niggly fouls, but with little in the way of any penetration from Kitchee, a defence V attack training session scenario began to unfold.

Drogba crossed from the right just after a quarter of an hour of play, with Kalou sending a header down into the ground and away from the ‘keeper. Unfortunately, the ball looped back up towards the bar and rebounded back off the woodwork.

Chances proved few and far between in the first-half however, with plenty of patient build-up play by Chelsea constantly being thwarted in the final third by some tight and compact Kitchee defending. The likes of Kalou and Ferreira were allowed time and space to cross, but ultimately their efforts were mostly in vain.

But Kitchee couldn’t keep Chelsea at bay forever, and in the 36th minute Benayoun collected a ball from Ferreira and jinked his way into the box. One drop of the shoulder later and the Israeli international had been brought down for a blatant penalty. Lampard stepped up to take it, and invariably scored, sending the ‘keeper the wrong way for a 1-0 lead.

The Blues threatened from a dead ball situation towards the end of the first 45 too, with Drogba sending a trademark long-range free-kick towards goal, but he saw his effort parried away by the Kitchee goalkeeper. Malouda also had a late chance after rounding the ‘keeper, but his shot was blocked on the line – possibly by an errant hand – by a pink-shirted defender.

The second-half didn’t see the usual raft of substitutions, indeed not a single change was made by Andres Villas-Boas. His faith in the starting XI paid off soon after the second-half got underway, as a Malouda cross from the left, low and driven into the box, was converted by Ubay Lozardo – under immense pressure from Drogba – for another pre-season own-goal to benefit Chelsea. Interestingly, the PA announcer credited the goal to the Ivorian to general delight amongst the sell-out crowd.

On the hour mark Drogba did score a genuine third for Chelsea. Some clever work from Cole and Malouda down the left led to a deflected cross finding Drogba at the back post, and his brave header, amongst high boots, found the back of the net.

The next big crowd ‘pop’ came with the introduction of Fernando Torres from the Chelsea bench, as he, Sturridge and Josh McEachran replaced Drogba, Malouda and Zhirkov. Every time the Spaniard got close to the ball, the fans in attendance exploded, regardless of the impact he made. Shortly after, Hilario took Turnbull’s place while Terry was replaced by Branislav Ivanovic and Lampard made way for John Mikel Obi. Mikel’s first touch was a threatening header which just drifted wide following a Benayoun cross.

Following the introduction of young England prospect Nathaniel Chalobah, it was another gifted home-grown player who bagged Chelsea’s fourth. Benayoun troubled the Kitchee defence in the box again, and his deflected cross found Sturridge. Some neat trickery saw the striker carve out a chance for himself, which he finished with aplomb. No doubt his eyes flickered over to the watching manager as soon as the ball whistled into the net.

There was still time left for Torres to hit the post with a long-range effort, but in the end Chelsea settled for four without reply for the second consecutive match.

The Blues’ next opponents in the Asian Trophy are the very un-Asian Aston Villa, who beat Blackburn Rovers earlier on in the day.

Inexplicably, we are still very much in the Premier League title race. After all the twists and turns of this rollercoaster campaign, we have managed to contain our vomit and hang on for dear life, sitting proudly in second place in the table just six points behind a Manchester United side we are still yet to play. There’s one thing worse than no hope if you’re a Chelsea fan, and that’s hope.

With just five games left to turn our season on its head, we welcome West Ham United to Stamford Bridge with the East London side firmly entrenched in a relegation fight, stuck as they are in 19th place, two points away from safety.

Avram Grant’s side put in a gutsy first-half performance at home to Manchester United recently, going into the half-time break 2-0 up, but completely capitulated at the hands of Wayne Rooney in the second 45, eventually throwing the game away 4-2 and losing a lot of sympathy from Blues fans watching worldwide.

A recent mini-revival which featured back-to-back league wins over Liverpool and Stoke has given way to another bleak period which has been more befitting of their campaign overall; defeat against the Potters in the FA Cup was followed by a draw against Spurs and three defeats in the league, including last weekend’s loss at home to Aston Villa.

West Ham have only won two away league games so far this season – beating Blackpool and Fulham, two sides on the slide – and have almost conceded exactly double the goals (31) they have managed on the road (16).

The Hammers are only missing Junior Stanislas through injury, with the youngster out of action with an Osteitis Pubis complaint. Your guess is as good as mine. Carlton Cole, meanwhile, will lead the line against his former club, although he may be a little red-faced as comments he recently made on Twitter were pounced upon by the Secret Police, sorry, the FA, leading to a £20k fine.

Chelsea may still be without Ramires and Alex, who were both missing from Wednesday’s win over Birmingham with hamstring injuries, although Carlo Ancelotti may be tempted to go with the same side after an impressive team performance. Didier Drogba has made himself undroppable once again, while even Salomon Kalou would be difficult to replace after his spectacular individual goal. Ashley Cole’s substitution against Birmingham means that Petr Cech is now the only Chelsea player to feature in every minute of every Premier League game this season.

The home side go into the game against West Ham with an unbeaten record stretching back to 3rd May 2003, when a Paolo di Canio goal proved to be the difference between the two sides. Embarrassingly, the Hammers managed to do the double over Chelsea that season, winning 3-2 at Stamford Bridge.

Back in September, however, two goals from Michael Essien and another strike by Kalou saw the Blues win 3-1 at Upton Park, with former Chelsea midfielder and undoubted star of the season Scott Parker bagging a consolation for West Ham late on. It was his second goal in as many games against the Blues.

Expectations are high where once they were scant; hope is real where once it was unthinkable; a trophy is in reach where once it was out of our hands. United host Everton at lunchtime – typically a fixture which only yields one outcome. If that happens, hopes fade for another week at least; if we don’t negotiate our way past a West Ham side who should be fighting for their Premier League lives on Saturday, hope will be all but gone. Again. No doubt returning next time United slip up!

Carlo Ancelotti recalled Drogba to the starting line-up in place of Fernando Torres, while Kalou and John Obi Mikel were also given rare starts considering the Italian manager’s recent way of thinking.
Despite the agony of the midweek defeat against Manchester United, Chelsea started brightly, bar a few shaky moments early on. Florent Malouda, Drogba and Kalou all wasted chances spectacularly, with the ball finding its way into the crowd rather than on target in the most part.
Opportunities materialised at the other end with Youssouf Mulumbu also sending a shot over the bar following some clever work by James Morrison, and the latter was also involved as West Brom took the lead.

Some intricate – and slightly fortunate – passing between Morrison and Jerome Thomas saw Odemwingie played clean through on goal. The pacy forward advanced into the box and finished sublimely, dinking the ball over Petr Cech.

A goal like that could have seen Chelsea’s already low-confidence dip even further, but a bullish Drogba – reportedly offered around by the club to anybody who is interested as his contract nears its expiration – was afforded a starting place for a reason, and he soon repaid his manager’s decision.

Chelsea were busy on the left-flank for the entire half, and a little under five minutes after they went behind, Malouda sent a low cross across the West Brom box which should have been cut out by Baggies’ ‘keeper Scott Carson. He dived despairingly and missed the ball, which was then prodded out of immediate danger by left-back Nicky Shorey. However, his woeful clearance only found Drogba, six yards out and grateful to receive such a gilt-edged chance. He smashed it, as Richard Keys may have said, for the equaliser.

A few minutes later and again Carson was at fault. Drogba shot from range and the beleaguered stopper could only divert the ball into the path of Kalou, inexplicably unmarked and with time to control, who slid home Chelsea’s second.

Carson did manage to save face a little with a flamboyant save from a Lampard free-kick which was well-struck, but the next time the midfielder tested the West Brom defence, it was well and truly game over.

Just before the break, again Chelsea made progress down the left-hand side, with a counter-attack kick-started by Drogba freeing Malouda for a clear run down the flank. His cut-back found Lampard rampaging into the area, who took the sting out of the cross and fired home, low into the corner, with two quick touches.

With the score 3-1 at half-time, a more relaxed away side emerged for the second 45, and although the earlier intensity was understandably missing, there were still chances for Kalou, Malouda and Drogba to further Chelsea’s lead. Blues fans were even witnesses to that very rarest of occasions, with Lampard substituted to give the box-to-box midfielder a breather; he was replaced by Yossi Benayoun.

Torres also made it onto the pitch, replacing Drogba in the final ten minutes, but his barren spell continued as he was denied a goal by the linesman, who ruled a successful effort by the Spaniard offside.

He got the ball in the back of the net at least, but for now, thank goodness for Drogba.