MEETING THE NEIGHBOURS

It is eight years since Felipe Scolari last experienced leading a club side into a derby fixture. As he prepares to resume with one of the truly big games of London football, the Chelsea manager was been recalling local rivalries past.

'In south Brazil, there was Grêmio versus Internacional. In São Paulo, there was Palmeiras versus São Paulo and Palmeiras versus Corinthians,' he details.

'I was three-and-half-years coach in Grêmio and three-and-a-half years coach in Palmeiras. I play many derbies there.

'I remember my first derby when I start as a coach was a final for the state championship in South Brazil with CSA. In 20 minutes we were leading 3-0 but then it was 3-2, and the game was not finished. It was a difficult game and I remember because it was my first derby and my first title.'

The man who started his managerial career over 25 years ago anticipates derby days in England will have passion but not a wild, dark side he experienced back in his homeland. And it will be all the better for it he reckons.

'In Brazil the derbies are more crazy than you think - but for me, a derby is not more important than a normal game.

'I know it is important for fans and I say to the fans for Chelsea the same as I say to the fans for Palmeiras and Grêmio - that we need three points. If we win against Tottenham but had lost against Wigan, it is no good.'

Scolari is likely to be joined by José Bosingwa and Deco in making a London derby bow today.

'We didn't talk about it being a derby specifically during the week,' reports Bosingwa.

'But I am sure that the closer it gets, the more we will talk.

'Just Friday, Didier [Drogba] talked to me about this game against Tottenham and he told me that during the game against Portsmouth, towards the end all the Chelsea fans started singing about not liking Tottenham and how we are going to beat them.

'I am looking forward to playing against a team coached by Juande Ramos as I haven't done that before,' the right-back adds. 'He did wonderfully well with Sevilla, winning two Uefa Cups.'

It was during Tottenham's Uefa Cup campaign last season that Ramos came up against Brazilian goalie Heurelho Gomes, then of PSV.

During a summer of much transfer talk and activity at White Hart Lane, Ramos made the player his new first choice between the posts for a fee reported around the £8 million mark.

'Gomes started as a goalkeeper with me in Brazil,' reports Scolari. 'I put him at 18 into the Cruzeiro squad. I believed in him because he was good and now he is in Tottenham.

'I will talk to him before the game and say all the best. I have two goalkeepers in England that started with me because there is also Diego in Liverpool. In Brazil, he was at Palmeiras'.

Report : Wigan Athletic 0 vs Chelsea 1

The winning start and the perfect record at the JJB Stadium continues but like so often at Wigan, it was tight.

A moment of Deco magic separated the sides but the display never reached the heights of the 4-0 win over Portsmouth and Scolari's men were thankful to three Petr Cech saves for maintaining the lead.

Scolari had been forced to make one change to the side so successful last Sunday - Essien in for Mikel in the holding midfield role, the Nigerian unavailable.

Wigan boss Steve Bruce had planned to make two changes, Titus Bramble and Jason Koumas the ones coming in but had another forced upon him - the luckless Chris Kirkland pulling out after the teams had been named, replaced by Mike Pollitt.

With just three minutes on the clock, Deco continued to make his impressive instant impact on the English game.

Last week it was a goal from 30-yards out and in open play. Eight minutes playing time later, he found the top left-hand corner with a perfect free-kick from 20 yards, a handball having been whistled up.

It was a superb strike. More than one Blues follower must have thought of Gianfranco Zola.

Wigan, to their credit, responded with fortitude and shaded territorial advantage over the rest of the half.

After a short spell of pressure, the home team drew a good save with his legs from Cech after Zaki had been played through on goal.

On 13 minutes, Terry was booked for pulling back Heskey after his England colleague had rolled beyond the skipper. It was not his only shaky moment of the half.

Palacios then tried a highly ambitious 30-yard lob that had Cech concerned before it dropped wide.

It was time for Chelsea to respond. Two corners were won in quick succession, the second headed just a yard over by Carvalho.

Kitted all in black, the team line-up once again had Joe Cole, Deco, Lampard and Ballack as a fluid midfield behind Anelka, the first two more likely to aid the full-backs (including birthday boy Boswinga) in providing width, Joe the more often seen pushing up into the box.

Ashley Cole flashed a diagonal drive well wide after Bramble was twice hurried into messy distribution by Chelsea pressing.

The Wigan defender atoned a by setting his team on an attack that resulted in an even better save by Cech from Zaki than the earlier one. That came with 20 minutes to go to the break.

Anelka wasn't too far away from finding the head of Ballack with a cross and when Ashley Cole's free-kick came in a minute later, it was Anelka who nodded off-target.

They were brief moments in a laboured close to the first half but there was more cause for the healthy Chelsea following to rise to their feet when in front of them, Anelka appeared to be tripped in the area by Boyce. However referee was Alan Wiley unmoved by penalty appeals.

The second half started with an early booking for Wigan midfielder Lee Cattermole for a late challenge on Essien.

In terms of performance, Chelsea were still frayed at the edges. The midfield link-ups weren't present.

There was an attempt at the Deco volley corner routine but Lampard's ball failed to reach the Portuguese player.

Joe Cole and Anelka were struggling to work good possession in the final third and it was the former withdrawn on 57 minutes, Kalou the Olympian his replacement.

When Chelsea did put a fluid move together 10 minutes later, a fine Ballack ball at the centre of it, it took a very well-timed Cattermole challenge to deny Lampard a shot from just 10 yards out.

Carvalho joined Terry in the book on 73 minutes for a foul on Zaki that had more than a hint of dive about it.

The half drifted on without chances for either side. Into the last ten minutes, Scolari was all set to bring on Belletti until Ashley Cole suddenly indicated a problem with his thigh. It was sit down Juliano, stand up Wayne as Bridge became the natural replacement.

Possession was being gifted too easily, Wigan looking to exploit that with diagonal balls, hoping to find the full-backs caught forward.

They were to have one more good effort, substitute Kapo firing a shot in low. Cech, Chelsea's man-of-the-match, was equal to it with a full-stretch save.

When the story of the season is written, this game won't warrant too many lines. It was however our fifth straight win in this stadium and enough to remain as early leaders.

Chelsea (4-1-4-1): Cech; Bosingwa, Carvalho, Terry (c), A Cole (Bridge 82); Essien; J Cole (Kalou 57), Ballack, Lampard, Deco; Anelka (Malouda 88).
Scorer Deco 3
Booked Terry 13, Carvalho 73.

Wigan (4-4-2): Kirkland; Melchiot (Camera 84), Boyce, Bramble, Figueroa; Valencia, Palacios (Kapo 79), Cattermole, Koumas (De Ridder); Zaki, Heskey.
Booked Cattermole 48

ALL TOP FLIGHT TIE IN CARLING CUP

Felipe Scolari will face Portsmouth away in his first Carling Cup match following the third round draw made today (Saturday).

The match at Fratton Park against the FA Cup holders will played on Tuesday 23 or Wednesday 24 September.

The club comprehensively beaten on the first day of the season have been drawn in this competition twice in the past.

In Chelsea's first season in the League Cup in 1960, a 1-0 defeat at Fratton Park ended our campaign after Millwall, Workington and Doncaster had been overcome.

Then in 1990, after a 0-0 draw at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea won a dramatic third round replay, fighting back to take the game right at the death.

Portsmouth took a 2-0 lead by the break but David Lee pulled one back on 81 minutes, Dennis Wise scored from the spot and then half-time sub Kerry Dixon put Kevin Wilson through for an injury-time winner.

In other third round ties drawn today, there are all-Premier League matches between Blackburn and Everton, Man United v Middlesbrough and holders Spurs must go to Newcastle.

The full draw is:

Arsenal v Sheffield United
Brighton v Man City v Derby
Burnley v Fulham
Portsmouth v Chelsea
Blackburn v Everton
Rotherham v Southampton
Swansea v Cardiff
Ipswich v Wigan
Stoke v Reading
Leeds v Hartlepool
Watford v West Ham
Man United v Middlesbrough
Liverpool v Crewe
Aston Villa v QPR
Sunderland v Northampton
Newcastle v Spurs

CAPITAL CLASH

Frank Lampard is relishing our first London derby tomorrow when we entertain Tottenham at Stamford Bridge.

The midfielder has been in fine form in early season, and is hoping to take that into our third league game of the season against the White Hart Lane club.

It is a fixture that is among those first picked out by fans and TV producers, and Lampard is aware of the importance attached.

'It's always a big game against Tottenham regardless, they made it very difficult for us to win the league with the 4-4 game at White Hart Lane last year.

'No matter where they are in the league they always want to beat us, and having made the bad start they have by not winning yet they will be determined to get three points on the board. It will be a very tough game I think,' stated the 30-year-old.

Lampard has seen our north London rivals make a stuttering start with defeats against Middlesbrough and Sunderland, but he isn't entirely shocked.

'Yes and no, I think they have bought very well but they have obviously lost a talisman in Robbie Keane and looking like they will lose Dimitar Berbatov as well, who has not been playing,' he reasoned.

'If you take 50 goals a season out of your team it isn't easy to make up for that, but I do think they have bought very well and they will come good, but it's been a tough start for them.'

Chelsea fans will be hoping to resume the superb run against Tottenham that saw us go unbeaten against them for 16 years. With defeats at White Hart Lane in late 2006, and again in this year's Carling Cup Final, there are supporters in N17 who believe the Chelsea hold over Spurs is a thing of the past.

'I think that was a hoodoo that was very unique. I don't think it happens normally, especially with teams that are such rivals.

'We still had the big upper hand in the last two or three years but there was always going to be a time when Tottenham were going to get a couple of results against us, whether it be draws or whatever, because they have good players. We'll see, I don't care about hoodoos too much to be honest, I just think about the game in hand.'

THE ROAD TO ROME

After learning of our Champions League group draw, Luiz Felipe Scolari has assessed the opposition.

The Brazilian was a two-time continental champion in South America before taking up the national team post, going on to win the World Cup in 2002, and so his credentials for such a competition are unquestioned.

Added into the mix is our first final appearance in the competition back in May, and a hunger in the club to go one step further and win the trophy.

It is a mission Scolari understands, and he is keen to get going, but before we start thinking of another final in Rome, we have to head there for the group stages as we come up against Roma.

They are a club close to Scolari's heart, and he holds a lot of respect for coach Luciano Spalletti.

'I like Spalletti, I like the Roma team because they play football. When Spalletti started there he had a big problem because they sold two or three players and didn't give moneyfor players. He went to the youth team, bringing one, two, working and made a team,' Scolari said.

'He is very good for me. I like him and he works very well. He doesn't speak too much, he is quiet. Last season in Italy until the last games he was in first and second position, he is a very good coach and they are a good team.'

Indeed the Italian has transformed Roma's fortunes since taking over in 2005, playing an expansive, attacking brand of football that last season eliminated Real Madrid from the Champions League.

Scolari's association goes back a little further though, to the days of his close friend Fabio Capello, who was in charge at the Stadio Olimpico for five years to 2004. At the time Aldair, Cafu and Emerson were at the club and in the national squad.

'I liked Roma before because they had Capello there and I was there many times to visit Capello and Roma,' he said. 'It is fantastic for me to play against Roma.'

Scolari was also on friendly terms with a former coach of Bordeaux, Ricardo Gomes, now at Monaco who captained Brazil at the 1990 World Cup in Italy.

'Bordeaux I know from three years ago because Ricardo Gomes was coach there. We talked many times about players, and now I have some information about Bordeaux from my friends that live there. In the future I will have more information,' he said on Laurent Blanc's men.

Scolari has already demonstrated his knowledge of the Romanians CFR Cluj on Friday, and will be keen to get stuck into European action.

Before then though is the bread and butter of Premier League football and the challenge of Tottenham at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.

The aim there will be to maintain our 100 per cent league record, going into the international break.

FOOTBALL FOCUS

Luiz Felipe Scolari is concentrating on our match with Tottenham this weekend, despite the distractions of the transfer window and a growing injury list.

With the clock ticking before Monday's transfer deadline, speculation remains on the future of Real Madrid winger Robinho, for whom we have made a bid.

Scolari insisted he had no news on the 24-year-old's future.

'I don't know about Robinho, because it is not my job to talk about the players. They try to bring Robinho here but my job is in the pitch, and that is for our board,' the manager said. 'I need to think about Tottenham, not whether players are coming or not. I don't know anything because I haven't spoken to Peter [Kenyon] for two days.

'He is a very good player, I think all the coaches in the world want him, but my feeling is Tottenham, I need to play against Tottenham, what happens outside the field is not important for me.'

He has discussed our opponents with the players, who have regaled him with stories of our last meeting, the thrilling 4-4 draw at White Hart Lane in March.

'They talked to me about the 4-4, not the Carling Cup Final. They told me about the goal in the 88th minute, and how it lost the Premier League. They talked about some players and their quality, and in this moment it is important for Tottenham not to lose another game,' Scolari said.

'They play against us and want their first point, or three points. We know this and have some problems, we need to respect them.'

Scolari is likely to be missing several players for the clash, with Michael Essien and Michael Ballack rejoining the injury list this week.

The German took a knock on the opening day of the season against Portsmouth, while the Wigan game was Essien's first since our friendly against Lokomotiv Moscow at the beginning of August.

'I lost one or two players more for this game, sure one. After the last game I said some players played because they wanted to help the Chelsea team. They are not only players, they are men,' said Scolari.

'This time it is impossible to say for one player to play because he feels his foot more than before. After tomorrow I think I have one player out and maybe one more out if not training tomorrow.

'I need to play players out of position, to rearrange players, because two or three midfielders have injuries. My problems are Ballack and Essien.'

Also ruled out for this weekend is Drogba, but Scolari is hopeful that the 30-year-old could be in action for our next league game against Manchester City in two weeks' time.

'I expect Drogba to be ready for the game against Manchester City because now we have 14 days for training, he isn't ready for the national team, so Monday maybe he plays in the reserve team for 45 minutes.'

We entertain Spurs on Sunday with contrasting fortunes from our north London rivals, who have lost their two opening league games. Scolari understands the importance of what is a standout fixture in the calendar.

'Tottenham would think they would start the season better than they have. I know Juande [Ramos] and the players for Tottenham.

'You need to remember that it is a big chance for Tottenham to grow, because it is a derby. If you win a derby it is fantastic. When I arrived here some people said to me you need to win three derbies - Tottenham, Fulham and West Ham! The other teams? No you don't need to win, just these teams! For me, I need to beat all the teams.'

It has been a busy week for news at Stamford Bridge, with the departure of two players as well as the draw for the group stages of this season's Champions League.

Scolari is content with the group we have been given, and insists we will not be surprised by Roma, Bordeaux or the Romanians CFR Cluj.

'I know you ask me maybe about Cluj from Romania, I know more than you think. I know they have 11 Portuguese people playing there, and I follow them because when I was in the national team, I heard news about Cluj every week. I have all the information about them, and Bordeaux and Roma, who are big opponents,' he explained.