MALOUDA: DROGBA ON FIRE

Florent Malouda believes the form of Didier Drogba can be the difference between ourselves and Manchester United on Sunday.

We enter the Premier League clash at Stamford Bridge two points clear of our title rivals, with Drogba on top of his game, his brace against Atletico Madrid on Tuesday taking his season's tally to 12.

Malouda, who was also team-mates with the Ivorian at Guingamp in France, is not surprised at Drogba's purple patch.

'He has not changed, the fact he had a good pre-season without injuries can explain it, he is really happy and enjoying his form at the moment,' said the 29-year-old. 'He is training harder than ever and had some rest because of the ban, but is now back in the competition and scoring goals.

'He always believed in himself, even in the second division in France he was dreaming about it and preparing himself. Even at this level he is working harder and harder,' Malouda continued.

'I knew him from Guingamp and he has always been a leader, always speaking in the dressing room and bringing the team behind him. With JT and Lamps he is one of our world-class players and when he is like this every team has to fear him.'

Now Drogba will be looking for his first goal against United since netting the winner in the 2007 FA Cup Final, and Malouda is hoping that would be enough to secure a vital victory.

'We have no choice, we have to win because we are two points in front and we want to stay in front. It's going to be a big, big, big game and we have to play at our best level in front of our fans,' he insisted.

'We have a home record and we're trying to keep it. Before the international break it would be a good result to win at home. To be five points clear would be a good thing for us, we have never been five in front for a long time.'

There are of course plenty of games left in the title race, in which ground will invariably be gained and lost. Malouda admitted he has not yet begun looking up United's results.

'I think about our team and I'm not looking too much at the results of Man U,' he said. 'At the moment we are on top and if we keep on going like this and playing like we are we won't be far, but nobody can say who is going to win this title.'
Chelseafc.com