Middlesbrough v Chelsea

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Middlesbrough v Chelsea

Riverside stadium
Saturday, 20 October
Kick-off: 1500 BST
Coverage on the BBC Sport website, BBC Radio Five Live & highlights on Match of the Day. Featured game on Score and Final Score.



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Team news to follow later.









BIG-MATCH FACTS
Chelsea have the weakest attack of top half clubs in the Premier League, but travel looking for a second league under Avram Grant and third on the bounce in all competitions.

Middlesbrough are in danger of suffering three successive defeats for the first time in the tenure of Gareth Southgate, on his 500th day in charge.

Both Middlesbrough and Chelsea have opened the scoring in fewer Premier League games than any other clubs; two each.

This is the 101st league meeting; Middlesbrough are chasing a third home win on the bounce against Chelsea.


CLUB FORM
MIDDLESBROUGH


Club stats
Fixtures
Highest achievable after Saturday's matches: 11th
Lowest could realistically fall: 17th

1. Not won in five league and cup matches.

2. Picked up one point from the last possible 12.

3. Managed one win in six Premier League outings.

4. Managed just one league clean sheet this season; 2-0, home to Birmingham on 1 September.

5. Conceded the opening goal in more Premier League matches than any other club; seven.

6. The most ill-disciplined club in the Premier League this season; 27 cards (all yellow).

7. Scored in each of the last eight home league matches, and failed to score in one of the last 16; the 0-2 defeat to Manchester City on 17 March.

8. Scored two goals in each of the last three Premier League fixtures at the Riverside.

9. A trip across the Pennines to meet Manchester United follows this match.

CHELSEA


Club stats
Fixtures
Highest achievable after Saturday's matches: 4th
Lowest could fall: 9th

1. Won one, drawn one and lost one in the Premier League under Avram Grant, scoring just one goal in the process.

2. Scored eight goals and conceded eight from nine league outings, so far this term.

3. Seven points worse off than at this identical stage last season, and 12 points inferior to the title winning campaign of 2005-06.

4. Completed 14 league games since a win by more than a single goal; 1-4 away to West Ham on 18 April.

5. One of six clubs with a 100% record from Premier League matches in which they opened the scoring (won two of two).

6. Failed to score in four Premier League matches this term; only Derby exceed that with five such blanks.

7. Gained an unrivalled seven Premier League points from losing positions this term.

8. Gained just one point from their last four trips to the north-east, since a 1-2 win at Sunderland on 15 January 2006; 0-0 v Newcastle on 22 April.

9. Defeat here would see them equalling their total number of league losses on the road for the whole of last season.

10. This match precedes the Champions League Group B tie, home to Schalke of Germany on Wednesday, before a home clash with Manchester City next weekend.


KEY PLAYER NOTES
MIDDLESBROUGH


Stewart DOWNING is Middlesbrough's top scorer, with three Premier League goals - one more than he managed in the whole of last season.

DOWNING and Mark SCHWARZER are the only remaining players to have been on the field for every minute of every one of Middlesbrough's Premier League matches this season.

If he plays:-

Andrew TAYLOR will be making his 100th club career appearance (Bradford City and Middlesbrough).

Robert HUTH will be facing the club where he started his career. The 23 year old Germany international defender made 62 appearances (42 in the league) and scored two goals for Chelsea between February 2002 and his £6m move to the Riverside in August 2006.

CHELSEA


Frank LAMPARD and Salomon KALOU are Chelsea's leading scorers with three goals each.

LAMPARD is also the club's leading Premier League marksman, as all three of his goals were in the league.

Goalkeeper Petr CECH is the only player who has been on the field for every minute of every one of Chelsea's Premier League matches this season.

Didier DROGBA has scored five Premier League goals in five appearances against Middlesbrough.

If selected:-

DROGBA will be making his 150th appearance in a Chelsea shirt.

Suspended:-

Wayne BRIDGE (three matches)


HEAD TO HEAD
Middlesbrough had picked up one point in four home Premier League matches against Chelsea, prior to winning the most recent two; 3-0 and 2-1.

Home and away
League (inc PL): Middlesbrough 28 wins, Chelsea 43, Draws 29
Prem: Middlesbrough 5 wins, Chelsea 13, Draws 6

at Middlesbrough only
League (inc PL): 23 wins, Chelsea 11, Draws 16
Prem: Middlesbrough 5 wins, Chelsea 4, Draws 3


LAST SEASON'S CORRESPONDING GAME
Middlesbrough 2-1 Chelsea
23 August 2006 - Ref: Howard Webb
Middlesbrough scorers: Pogatetz 80, Viduka 90
Chelsea scorer: Shevchenko 16


REFEREE
Mark Halsey (Lancashire)

Premier League referees' table
Mark Halsey's 2007-08 Premier League card count

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Middlesbrough 0-2 Chelsea
By Owen Phillips



Drogba wheels away after putting Chelsea ahead at the Riverside
Didier Drogba's cool finish set Chelsea on their way to victory and increased the pressure on Gareth Southgate's struggling Middlesbrough side.

Drogba showed great composure to slot home after racing through following a slick one-two with Frank Lampard.

Mido missed a glorious chance to level moments later, Petr Cech reacting brilliantly to keep his header out.

But Chelsea sealed the win after the break when Alex crashed a wonderful 30-yard free-kick past Mark Schwarzer.


Interview: Middlesbrough manager Gareth Southgate
Interview: Chelsea manager Avram Grant

Up until Alex's stunning strike the game was in the balance but the second goal relaxed the visitors who suddenly started to play with a swagger and saw out the remaining half an hour in relative comfort.

We didn't get close to them until they scored their goal but maybe by then it's too late

Gareth Southgate

It was Drogba, who this week went public with his desire to quit the club, who eased the early pressure on both himself and the club with the crucial opening goal.

Florent Malouda fed the ball into the Ivorian whose cushioned pass found Lampard.

The England midfielder then played a first-time pass through to Drogba who raced towards goal and coolly guided his shot across Mark Schwarzer and into the far corner.

But Boro, who had beaten Chelsea in the corresponding fixture for the past two seasons, should have levelled almost immediately.

Gary O'Neil skipped past Paulo Ferreira - playing out of position at left-back - and his teasing cross found Mido whose powerful close-range header forced a fine instinctive save from Cech.

After that the visitors seemed content to sit back and defend their lead and Boro had plenty of possession but the closest they came to the Chelsea goal were a couple of dangerous crosses which Juliano Belletti did well to clear.

At the other end, Chelsea's only noteworthy chance of an error-strewn first-half saw Drogba curl a free-kick wide from the edge of the box.

606: DEBATE
Alex's first goal for Chelsea, a 30-yard Brazilian bender

Straeh

Boro upped the pace after the interval and looked threatening. Mido should have done better with a floated Stewart Downing cross as the home side enjoyed a decent spell camped in the Chelsea half.

But the game was effectively over when Alex spanked Chelsea 2-0 ahead with a thunderous free-kick on 57 minutes.

Lampard touched the ball to his right and the Brazilian smashed it high into the right-hand side of the net from 30-yards - his first goal for the club.

The Londoners then had a couple of half-chances to increase their lead through Malouda and Lampard.

O'Neil blazed a shot over the bar in the dying seconds after some dreadful defending but Boro never looked like avoiding a third consecutive Premier League.



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Middlesbrough boss Gareth Southgate:
"Against a team with their quality you can't concede early and that's the problem.
"We didn't get close to them until they scored their goal but maybe by then it's too late.

"Petr Cech made a fantastic save (from Mido) we created two or three very good chances and are well in the game but the free-kick was top drawer and that killed the game off.

"When you have a spell like this you need to stick together and roll your sleeves up."


Chelsea manager Avram Grant on the win and Didier Drogba's comments in the French press that he wants to quit the club:
"We played good and we won. I'm happy with win and happy are playing better from game to game.
"We started well, scored and could have scored more. Alex has a terrific shot and it was a fantastic goal and the first goal was a good combination too.

"I have seen Didier in the last month in training, in my room, on the pitch and I haven't had one problem. If he has done something off the pitch and he regrets it, it's good.

"He is not a negative person. If he was negative on the pitch or in the dressing room or when he spoke to me, that is another story. But it's not like this. Players need to speak on the pitch, and he did that very well."



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Middlesbrough: Schwarzer, Young, Woodgate, Riggott, Taylor, O'Neil, Boateng (Cattermole 67), Rochemback, Downing, Sanli (Craddock 84), Mido.
Subs Not Used: Turnbull, Lee, Wheater.

Booked: Boateng.

Chelsea: Cech, Belletti, Carvalho, Alex, Ferreira, Obi, Essien (Sidwell 81), Lampard, Joe Cole, Drogba (Shevchenko 85), Malouda (Wright-Phillips 75).
Subs Not Used: Cudicini, Ben-Haim.

Booked: Malouda.

Goals: Drogba 8, Alex 57.

Att: 27,699.

Ref: Mark Halsey (Lancashire).