Can Chelsea Bounce Back on the Attack at Blackburn?

In the Champions League, Chelsea collapsed 3-1 against a rampant A.S Roma, starved of victory at the Olympic Stadium in midweek.

In the eternal city of Rome, Chelsea hadn't conceded as many goals in the UEFA competition since they leaked five against Barcelona in the 1999-2000 season.

Manager Luiz Felipe Scolari was candid in his post-match appraisal, despondent at the Blues' lack of verve and accuracy in their passing, poor tackling and naive defensive organisation.

"We lost because Roma were better than us," remarked the frank Brazilian. The Blues' lethargy in Rome was best encapsulated by the first goal conceded.

The statuesque response of the Chelsea defenders ultimately lead to ex-Blue Christian Panucci scoring the close-range opener from a relatively basic free kick routine.

In the wake of this defeat, club captain John Terry has publicly spoken of his side needing a proverbial "kick up the backside."

Undoubtedly this was Chelsea's worst performance of the season, leading to 'J.T.' questioning his teammates collective spirit and desire- claiming, "Maybe we need to realise we are not the best side we thought we are."

It is clear that Terry has demonstrated his strong leadership quality, openly throwing down the gauntlet for his teammates to quickly reassemble in order to achieve the success that they crave.

The apparent catharsis after the humbling loss underlines that Chelsea are a side that desires to constantly win. With the Premiership campaign resuming on Sunday, the West Londoners face a potentially tricky assignment, away at Ewood Park in the North West of England against a tough Blackburn Rovers side, managed by the bullish and self styled "Guv'nor", Paul Ince.

Blackburn's form under ex-Manchester United and England star Ince has been mixed. They lie 13th in the league and haven't registered a victory since 27th September, when they defeated Newcastle 2-1 at St. James' Park.

At home, Rovers have been comprehensively beaten by Chelsea's title rivals, Arsenal (4-0) and Manchester United (2-0.)

Against United, the flexible Ince deployed a '4-2-3-1' formation, designed to flood the midfield, therefore making it difficult to negate fluid passing and movement. Ince conceded United were "too good" on the day and they combatted very well against this system but nevertheless this is the formation Chelsea can expect to be up against.

Life may be easier for Big Phil's men if Rovers star striker Roque Santa Cruz does not pass a fitness test. Though Chelsea capitulated on Tuesday, don't expect Scolari to employ drastic tactical changes.

His main aim will to be to reinvigorate his side mentally and they will continue with their usual cut and thrust. With a high injury list, there is little the World Cup winner can do in regards to changing personnel.

Scolari will be looking for his players to keep the ball better and play as a cohesive unit, which they failed to do in their previous error strewn outing.

Chelsea should win this tie against Rovers, after all they sit top of the league above Liverpool on goal difference. They have scored the most goals in the division (27) and have conceded a mere four goals.

If Chelsea fail to win on Sunday, it may be down to more psychological reasons than Scolari's tactics. Chelsea need to get back to the winning habit, despite their exciting form, they are still adapting to Scolari's footballing mantra. In encounters against decorated sides such as Liverpool, Manchester United and even Roma, they have won just once, drawn once and lost twice.

Though one could point to Scolari being outfoxed by his opposite numbers, the Chelsea players have not completely adapted to the controlling possession play that Scolari believes is essential for his team to beat the top calibre sides.When they do adapt, maybe then they will be the best team in Europe.