Anelka: In fine fettle
Nicolas Anelka claims a partnership alongside Didier Drogba could prove fruitful, despite the success he has enjoyed this season as Chelsea's lone front man.
In Drogba's absence, Luiz Felipe Scolari has invested his trust in Anelka and been rewarded with nine goals from the mercurial Frenchman.
A hat-trick at the weekend against Sunderland saw Anelka move to the top of Chelsea's scoring charts and he has no intention to return to the bench once Drogba - who came on as a second-half substitute - closes on full match fitness.
However, he would be willing to share the striking mantle with his powerful Ivorian team-mate.
"Didier and I can play together but we have not done that since I have been here," said Anelka.
"We have never started together up front. If we have started together then I was either on the right or left.
"So it's a shame, because I wanted to play with him when I first signed with Chelsea, but I hope it will happen.
"I think it could work with the two of us. But it's the choice of the manager."
Having spent much of last season lamenting the fact he was being played out of position on the flanks, by then manager Avram Grant, Anelka credits his white hot form to being employed down the middle.
And having got the goalscoring bug back, he has set his heart on topping the charts.
"The most I have ever scored in a season is 25, for Man City. I will try to do better than that.
"But what matters is for Chelsea to win more titles."

Stoke 1-0 Portsmouth - Fuller and Sorensen
Tottenham 9-1 Wigan - Defoe
Stoke 1-0 Portsmouth - Pulis
Stoke 1-0 Portsmouth - Shreeves' blog
Stoke 1-0 Portsmouth - Hart
Tottenham 9-1 Wigan - Redknapp
Tottenham 9-1 Wigan - Martinez
Bolton 0-2 Blackburn - Megson
| Time | Fixture |
|---|---|
| Wednesday 25th November | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 19:45 | Hull vs Everton |
| 20:00 | Fulham vs Blackburn |
| Saturday 28th November | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 15:00 | Blackburn vs Stoke |
| 15:00 | Fulham vs Bolton |
| 15:00 | Man City vs Hull |
| 15:00 | Portsmouth vs Man Utd |
| 15:00 | West Ham vs Burnley |
| 15:00 | Wigan vs Sunderland |
| 17:30 | Aston Villa vs Tottenham |
| Sunday 29th November | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 12:00 | Wolverhampton vs Birmingham |
| 13:30 | Everton vs Liverpool |
| 16:00 | Arsenal vs Chelsea |
| Saturday 5th December | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 12:45 | Portsmouth vs Burnley |
| 15:00 | Arsenal vs Stoke |
| 15:00 | Aston Villa vs Hull |
| 15:00 | Blackburn vs Liverpool |
| 15:00 | West Ham vs Man Utd |
| 15:00 | Wigan vs Birmingham |
| 15:00 | Wolverhampton vs Bolton |
| 17:30 | Man City vs Chelsea |
| Time | Result |
|---|---|
| Sunday 22nd November | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Bolton 0 - 2 Blackburn | |
| Tottenham 9 - 1 Wigan | |
| Stoke 1 - 0 Portsmouth | |
| Saturday 21st November | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Liverpool 2 - 2 Man City | |
| Hull 3 - 3 West Ham | |
| Chelsea 4 - 0 Wolverhampton | |
| Sunderland 1 - 0 Arsenal | |
| Man Utd 3 - 0 Everton | |
| Birmingham 1 - 0 Fulham | |
| Burnley 1 - 1 Aston Villa | |
| Monday 9th November | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Liverpool 2 - 2 Birmingham | |
| Sunday 8th November | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Hull 2 - 1 Stoke | |
| Wigan 1 - 1 Fulham | |
| Chelsea 1 - 0 Man Utd | |
| West Ham 1 - 2 Everton | |
| Saturday 7th November | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Aston Villa 5 - 1 Bolton | |
| Blackburn 3 - 1 Portsmouth | |
| Tottenham 2 - 0 Sunderland | |
| Wolverhampton 1 - 4 Arsenal | |
| Man City 3 - 3 Burnley | |
| Pos | Team | P | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chelsea | 13 | 33 |
| 2 | Manchester United | 13 | 28 |
| 3 | Arsenal | 12 | 25 |
| 4 | Aston Villa | 13 | 22 |
| 5 | Tottenham Hotspur | 12 | 22 |
| 6 | Manchester City | 12 | 21 |
| 7 | Liverpool | 13 | 20 |
| 8 | Sunderland | 13 | 20 |
| 9 | Burnley | 13 | 17 |
| 10 | Stoke City | 12 | 16 |
| 11 | Fulham | 12 | 15 |
| 12 | Birmingham City | 13 | 15 |
| 13 | Everton | 12 | 15 |
| 14 | Wigan Athletic | 12 | 14 |
| 15 | Blackburn Rovers | 11 | 13 |
| 16 | Hull City | 13 | 12 |
| 17 | West Ham United | 13 | 11 |
| 18 | Bolton Wanderers | 11 | 11 |
| 19 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 13 | 10 |
| 20 | Portsmouth | 12 | 7 |
Skysports.com looks at the best and worst moments from the latest round of top-flight fixtures.
Take a look back at what Liverpool and Man City fans had to say following a 2-2 draw at Anfield.
Bristol City fan Hannah Shine was strutting her as the Soccerette in the Soccer AM studios this week.
Jermain Defoe helped himself to five goals as Tottenham demolished Wigan 9-1 at White Hart Lane to move into fourth spot in the table.
Paul Hart played down the injury to David James prior to Portsmouth's 1-0 defeat to Stoke on Sunday.
Stoke collected all three points against Portsmouth thanks to a late strike from Ricardo Fuller.
Bolton squandered the chance to climb out of the bottom three as they were beaten 2-0 at home by Blackburn.
Tony Pulis put Stoke's poor first-half performance against Portsmouth at the Britannia Stadium down to nerves.