Chelsea v Bolton: Blues Triumph over Trotters but is it Too Little, Too Late for the Title?

The Blues are back to their best, doing what they’ve been good at in recent years - grinding out points and contesting trophies. This weekend they need to better Manchester United’s result at Wigan to win the title despite looking well out of the championship race just 2 months ago. Fortunately for Avram Grant and co. they face a Bolton team assured of Premier League survival barring a miraculous turn of events. Premier 10 players, mark this one down as a home win!

Blues Possess a Habit of Beating Bolton

Unlike a number of clubs, Chelsea have a superb record against the Trotters in recent years. Bolton’s direct style under Sam Allardyce played into the hands of the Blues who also have to ability to play in a similar manner but back it up with a whole lot more talent. After all, Chelsea haven’t lost in their last 8 League encounters with Bolton stretching back 4 and a half years (6 wins & 2 draws).

The Trotters last win against the Blues came in a 2-1 win at Stamford Bridge in December 2003. This is Bolton’s only League success at Chelsea in the last 33 years (10 defeats & 2 draws). Therefore, don’t expect Gary Megson’s team to be the ones to end the Blues unbeaten 81-match home League run.

Chelsea Title Chase in Full Affect

Chelsea are unbeaten in the last 20 League matches (15 wins) so will be overflowing with confidence entering this all-important game. Despite so much riding on the result I expect the Blues to be relatively relaxed as they’ve been chasing the title rather than leading from the front so have nothing to lose but plenty to win.

The Blues have scored in 13 of the last 14 home League games and should prove far too strong for a Bolton side who may have relaxed following their Premier League status-determining win over Sunderland last weekend. The Chelsea players have undoubtedly proved they are made of stern stuff over the last few weeks and it’s difficult to see them choking at the final hurdle after doing so well to drag themselves back into a title race few expected them to be a part of.

Bolton in Best Form of the Season

Megson’s team’s survival success has been achieved on the back of a 4-match unbeaten run which includes wins over West Ham, Boro and Sunderland as well as a point at Tottenham. This is by far their best period of the season and means they can go into the final weekend in a relatively relaxed state. They’ve only conceded 1-goal in this unbeaten run, so confidence will be high though they may lack the motivation that title chasing Chelsea possess.

Take a Chelsea Win for Grant-ed!

Premier 10 players should have little doubt that the Blues mean business this weekend and I expect them to convincingly take all 3 points to leave United sweating over their trip to the JJB. Few of us expect the Red Devils not to triumph but in the event of United failing to win, Avram Grant’s side will take the title as I for one don’t expect Chelsea to slip up.

Pundit’s Pick: Chelsea pile pressure on United by beating Bolton at the Bridge (home win) Do you agree with this result for your Premier 10 prediction? Play Now>>

Tags: Blues, Bolton Wanderers, Chelsea, Premier 10 preview, Premier League, Trotters

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 7th, 2008 at 10:43 and is filed under Betting-Tips, Premier 10 Match Previews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.