Sat 15 Jan ,15:00 local time @ Stamford Bridge
Blackburn Rovers will be travelling to Stamford Bridge this Saturday, with a pleasant but unfamiliar feeling of having their title-challenging opposition only 4 places above them in the Premier League table. The League champions' confidence got a shot in the arm on Sunday when they put their poor form behind them and scored 7 goals against a hapless Ipswich Town team in front of the Blues' faithful to help them progress in the FA Cup. However, that win doesn't cover their problems in the league, where they have won only once in their last nine games, picking up 7 from a possible 27 points. The team are in dire need to rally around each other and start producing results, as these are not the performances either the Chelsea fans, or owner Roman Abramovich expects. Blackburn also, have not been controversy-shy this season, with their new owners' (Indian hatcheries company, Venky's) decision to sack successful manager Sam Allardyce causing an outrage among the Blackburn fans, as well as the English media. Caretaker manager Steve Kean has been able to stabilise the footballing side of matters, with the club still holding onto a top ten place in the league. But the long term success of the club, both on the field and off it, is not a certainty. The last time these two teams met was in October, when Chelsea came from a goal behind to win the game 2-1.
●Chelsea :
The London club are falling deeper and deeper into trouble, as they fail to pick up wins in the Premier League, leaving them doubting a top four finish, let alone a title win. They have not played that badly recently, but haven't been able to score goals when required to win matches, exemplified by their 1-0 loss against Wolves last week. Manager Carlo Ancelotti looks more bereft of confidence every time he has been talking to the media, doubting Chelsea's title credentials and rendering himself lucky to still be the Blues' manager. And with results not going his way, it might not be long before Abramovich starts looking for another man for the hot-seat.
Chelsea usually have a watertight backline, and with them conceding goals easily, wins have been hard to come by. Also, Didier Drogba, an integral part of their attacking force, has suddenly gone missing, not showing his regular ability in front of goal. But with key midfielder Frank Lampard back to full fitness, one hopes that normal services will be resumed soon at the London club. They are missing John Obi Mikel, who is out with a knee injury, along with long term absentees Alex, Yossi Benayoun, and Yuri Zhirkov.
Chelsea face a tough away trip to Bolton following this game, before playing Everton in the fourth round of the FA Cupto round up their schedule for January.
●Blackburn Rovers :
Blackburn have had a very inconsistent year, with their ten losses hampering chances of being up even further in the league table. Their away form especially, has been poor, losing 7 of 11 games on their travels. They have also been poor defensively, having conceded 35 goals this season, which is the fourth highest number for a Premier League team. They are looking to spend in the January transfer market and would be well-advised to buy a forward who can score goals on a regular basis for them, as they don’t seem to have a natural goal scorer in their ranks, with midfielder Morten Gamst Pederson leading their goal scoring charts with just 4 goals.
Blackburn recently were linked with high profile names like Ronaldinho and David Beckham, but with both deals going bust for the team, their focus should be back on picking up regular points, to hold onto their spot and bring about a little more consistency in their game.
They host West Brom at Ewood Park in their next fixture, and will play Aston Villa in the fourth round of the FA Cup following that game.
(thesportscampus)
-Head to Head
Chelsea---------------------Blackburn
21------------Played----------22
35------------Points-----------28
10---------------Won-----------8
5--------------Drawn-----------4
6---------------Lost------------10
36------------Scored----------29
19------------Conceded------35
5---------League Position----10
Chelsea--------------------Blackburn
WLDWL--------Form------WWLWL
Recent Results: The Blues
Chelsea 7 - 0 Ipswich Town (FA Cup)
Wolves 1 - 0 Chelsea
Chelsea 3 - 3 Aston Villa
Chelsea 1 - 0 Bolton Wanderers
Arsenal 3 - 1 Chelsea
Recent Results : Blackburn
Blackburn 1 - 0 QPR (FA Cup)
Blackburn 3 - 1 Liverpool
Sunderland 3 - 0 Blackburn
West Bromwich 1 - 3 Blackburn
Blackburn 0 - 2 Stoke City
●Recent Meetings:
30 Oct '10 - Blackburn 1 - 2 Chelsea
21 Mar '10 - Blackburn 1 - 1 Chelsea
My Team
-----------------------Cech---------------------------
Bosingwa-----Ivanovic--------Terry------Cole--
|--------------------Ramirez---------------------\--
|------------Essien-----------Lampard----------|---
-\->---Sturridge---------------------Malouda-|---
-----------\-----------Drogba-------------/--<-/---
Blackburn Rovers (4-5-1) - Bunn, Nelsen, Samba, Givet, Salgado, Dunn, Pederson, Olsson, E. Diouf, M. Diouf, Benjani
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