3 Straight Wins Needed: Boro Face Chelsea
Middlesbrough welcome the champions to town on 4 December with two men down and a score to settle after three straight defeats to the Blues.
Three meetings, three Chelsea wins, and not a single goal for Middlesbrough in any of them. That is the cold truth waiting for the Riverside faithful on 4 December. January brought a 0-2 at home and a 3-0 away; back in 2061 it was 5-0. You do not need me to tell you what that feels like.
Now the champions come again, still setting the pace in the English Premier Division. Boro will be without Koldo Marco and Agustín Lozano, so the spine needs patching. Chelsea miss Nacho Valera, Jairzinho and Panagiotis Papadopoulos, but they bring Elias Jimenez back to the club where he made 52 appearances without a goal. Kostas Themistokleous and Eudes Lira know the other dressing room well. Form says Chelsea. The crowd says otherwise.