Manchester United held by Blackburn. Door swings wide open. Must take advantage.
Ferguson concedes Premier League. Ancelotti doesn't buy it. Smart move.
Shall we play, then?
Back in the day.
The what: Premier League, round 34 – Chelsea v. Bolton
The where: Stamford Bridge (75,957)
The when: April 13, 7:55pm local time (2:55pm EST)
The how: ESPN2 (Dish 144, DirecTV 209)
The referee: Chris Foy
"On paper, maybe Bolton Wanderers have less quality than us. But they have a possibility to play a game with high intensity because they didn't play at the weekend and we played a tough game on Saturday (in the FA Cup). They will arrive fresh. I don't think my players believe we have an easy game to play against Bolton. I would like them to think it's a very, very important game. Maybe the most important game of our season."
-Carlo
Bolton —
Position: 15 (32 points)
Form: LWDWWW
Team: Jaaskelainen, Knight, Ricketts, Cahill, Robinson, Muamba, Lee, Gardner, M. Davies, Taylor, Wilshere, Cohen, K. Davies, Elmander, Klasnic, Weiss, Al Habsi, Samuel, A. O'Brien, Steinsson, Riga
Doubtful: M. Davies, Gardner
Injured: Basham (knee), J. O'Brien (knee), Davis (ankle), McCann (ankle), Holden (leg)
Suspended: None
Leading scorer: Cahill, K. Davies 7 goals (5 league)
I like Owen Coyle. But not on this day.
CFC —
Position: 1 (74 points)
League Form: LWDWWW
Team: Cech, Hilario, Turnbull, Kalou, Alex, Drogba, Malouda, Terry, Borini, Lampard, Obi, Deco, Anelka, Ivanovic, Zhirkov, J Cole, Belletti, Ballack, Kakuta, Sturridge, Ferreira, Bruma, Van Aanholt
Doubtful: Hilario (groin)
Injured: A. Cole (ankle), Carvalho (ankle), Essien (knee), Bosingwa (knee)
Suspended: None
Leading scorer: Drogba 32 (25 league)
Deco and Joe Cole are to be rested; that's about all we know about the squad. We can assume Ballack and Kalou will move in. Anelka or Drogba: Bolton striker Kevin Davies reckons the two don't get along. I don't buy it. What we do know is that Ancelotti is beginning to buy into the idea that the two cannot play together. Who gets the nod Tuesday?
Projected XI
Cech
Ferreira-Alex-BJT-Zhirkov
Ballack-Mikel-Lampard
Kalou-Anelka-Malouda
The Stat: Chelsea are unbeaten in their last 12 league matches against Bolton, who last won in this fixture in December 2003. At Stamford Bridge.