Chelsea vs Bolton Wanderers - Match Preview

Bolton travel to Stamford Bridge to take on the dysfunctional family of Chelsea this afternoon, with the focus very much on Andre Villas-Boas€™ team selection. There were dissatisfied mutterings due to Ashley Cole and Frank Lampard being dropped to the bench against Napoli, and the discontent was hardly eased with a disappointing 3-1 to the Italians. In fact, there€™s a lot of uncertainty at Chelsea all round right now, but the Blues managers€™ future is becoming decidedly more certain as the games go on, and certainly not in a good way. His fate may well be sealed if the Blues can€™t see off the challenge of the Trotters in this game. One thing we can be sure of is that AVB has come up well short of his admittedly incomparable benchmark €“ compatriot and former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho. Though it is undoubtedly a good time to face the West London club, Owen Coyle will be all too aware of his side€™s pathetic record against them. They haven€™t won since 2003, and it was a win against Bolton that ended Chelsea€™s slump last season when Carlo Ancelotti was at the helm. Could there be de ja vu at the Bridge? I think that although the visitors aren€™t on great form, (their recent impressive streak came to an end with losses at the hands of Norwich and Wigan) this is the best chance they€™ll have of taking three points from the Blues€™ home patch, especially if Juan Mata€™s finger injury rules him out. Add to this the drama of Gary Cahill facing his old club (that€™s not really a huge amount of drama though to be honest, unless he scores) and a capacity crowd ready to jump on the back of their team at the drop of a hat, and we can expect a rather nervy affair.

Team News

Chelsea: Jose Bosingwa is likely to miss out due to a muscle injury, so AVB may be forced to play his malcontent of a left back €“ Ashley Cole. Fernando Torres has recovered from a mild sickness mid week, and Juan Mata should start despite a broken finger. Bolton Wanderers: Mark Davies has a hamstring problem but is likely to play if picked, Kevin Davies will miss out with ligament damage and Joe Riley€™s foot injury keeps him out. Probable Line ups Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Cech, Ivanovic, David Luiz, Cahill, Cole, Ramires, Romeu, Sturridge, Mata, Malouda, Drogba Bolton (4-4-2): Bogdan, Steinsson, Knight, Wheater, Robinson, Eagles, Reo-Coker, M. Davies, Petrov, Tuncay, Ngog

My Prediction

A tight one surely, unless Chelsea start well in which case I can see them being spurred on by the fans. As it goes though I€™m going with a 1-1 draw that, if accurate, may be enough to put Villas-Boas out of a job. Saying that I€™m not all that sure where a goal will come from in this Bolton team. Perhaps Gary Cahill will put one in his own net. For old times.