“I have a lot of admiration and respect for Nicolas. He came to England very young and had to prove himself in a very demanding League.

"I'm a bit disappointed we've not been able to play together all that often since he arrived from Bolton in January.

"But given the chance we can do a lot of damage. Hopefully that will be the case against United.

“The game, as ever against United, will be tough. But if we do not win, this season will be a huge black mark on my career.

Since Anelka´s transfer from Bolton to Chelsea, both players and fans alike were licking their lips in anticipation about the damage that the forward pairing could inflict upon opposing teams – but they haven’t been given much of a chance. 

When Anelka and Drogba have both been on the pitch in the starting line-up it has always been with Anelka out wide – first experimenting on the left and then the right wing.  The only time Grant has used the two strikers as a two up front pairing has been when we’ve gone behind (e.g. Arsenal at Stamford Bridge).

So far, Grant has stuck stubbornly to 4-3-3 and Drogba has mainly been a lone battering ram, buffeting up against 2-3 defenders making space for his colleagues.  It is clear that Drogba has not been enjoying his football this season and could possibly add to making his mind up to leave us in the summer.

With just one match to go to finish the season, Grant will have to decide between producing a possible trump card to surprise Ferguson or not risk changing tactics at this late stage.

I can’t see Grant changing formation unfortunately and some would argue that it would be unwise to do so anyway and point to what we have achieved this season (Which is nothing so far, isn’t it? – Ed)