Chelsea vs. Bolton Wanderers Preview

Chelsea will be looking to repair some damage from their faltering season when they host second bottom Bolton Wanderers in the Barclays Premier League on Saturday February 25.

The Blues are falling fast following a recent defeat away at Everton and nothing short of three points will be required from AVB’s men if they are to stay firmly in the hunt for a top four finish.

Arsenal have now caught up with Chelsea in the race for Champions League qualification and it appears as if the two London clubs are now in a straight dogfight to finish best of the rest behind Manchester United, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur.

But it seems as if Chelsea’s problems are going to hang around for quite some time - and their recent 1-1 stalemate at home to Birmingham City in the F.A Cup did little to suggest that a swift return to former glory was imminent.

For sure, Chelsea are still well in the mix in terms of this season’s Champions League, however there will now be an added pressure on winning the tournament purely to preserve their status in the competition for the 2012/2013 campaign.

And although a woeful Bolton Wanderers go into this particular fixture having accrued just 20 points all season, there can be no confidence behind Chelsea swatting their opponents out of sight.

Owen Coyle’s strugglers will certainly have to produce their best form to compete, something which has rarely been witnessed over the last few months.

Nevertheless, the Trotters may feel they have nothing to lose travelling to the Bridge and could well be up for spoiling a battered Chelsea’s campaign all the more.

It is clear for many football fans and neutrals that AVB is feeling the pinch – and a recent plethora of tabloid news speculating over his potential successor will have done little to ease the pain.

Chelsea have managed to bounce back on a number of occasions this season, but this is perhaps a time too far - and overall, their form has been so poor in comparison to previous years that they can hardly be classed as the punters friend having disappointed so many times at long odds on.

For that reason alone, the 2/7 about them dispatching Bolton is an instant turn off and leaves backers looking for an alternative to the simple match bet – as it would also be difficult to tip up the draw or a rare Bolton success.

With Chelsea still evidently capable of finding the net whilst also being prone to conceding a fair few goals, it may pay to seek out the 7/5 available about 3.5 goals or more occurring during what is likely to be an open game full of defensive mishaps.

Bolton have shipped an incredible 51 goals this term and that unwanted record should be dented further still whilst their forward line will have enough hunger to hit back at least once.

For the more adventurous punter, 4.5 goals also looks highly possible at a juicier 3/1.

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20/02/2012     © Frixo 2024