Venue: Stamford Bridge
Date: Saturday, 15 January
Kick-off: 1500 GMT
Right, we may well have battered Ipswich 7-0 in our last game but like I said at the time, it was the FA Cup and it was Ipswich. This afternoon, it’s back to the Premier League and it’s about time we put in a decent performance here as well.
We keep saying it’s been a bloody long time since we’ve had a run of form as bad as this and with each preview, and each subsequent result, that time frame continues to increase because the results haven’t come. So, let’s hope we can put a stop to all that nonsense with a good result at home today against Blackburn.
MANAGERS’ VIEWS
In spite of last weekend’s result, Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti is unsurprisingly cautious ahead of today’s game, suggesting “The team lost some confidence in their play but I think we have the capacity to come back to play as well as we did last year. The result and performance against Ipswich were good. The players showed more confidence and there was a different atmosphere. Ipswich was the FA Cup. The Premier League is a different story and now is the time to come back and try to close the gap. We cannot say everything is okay now because we know we need more examination. Tomorrow will be a very important exam.”
As for Steve Kean, I’ve no idea what his opinion is because he doesn’t seem to have said a lot.
SQUAD NEWS
For Chelsea, Alex, Mikel (both knee), Yuri Zhirkov (calf) and Yossi Benayoun (Achilles) are all still sidelined. Didier Drogba, Florent Malouda, Michael Essien and Ashley Cole could all return to the Chelsea side and Nicolas Anelka may well get a recall having scored a career-high 11 goals against Blackburn.
For Blackburn, Vince Grella, Keith Andrews (both groin) and Phil Jones (knee) remain out through injury and Brett Emerton is on international duty with Australia. Goalkeeper Paul Robinson is fit to return,Steven Nzonzi (hamstring) could also be back in contention. Gael Givet and Martin Olsson have overcome knocks and Nikola Kalinic is back from suspension. Roque Santa Cruz is also available.
TEAMS
CHELSEA (from): Cech, Ferreira, Bosingwa, Ivanovic, Bruma, Terry, Cole, Ramires, Kalou, Essien, Lampard, Anelka, Sturridge, Drogba, Malouda, Turnbull, Van Aanholt, McEachran, Mellis.
BLACKBURN (from): Robinson, Nelsen, Samba, Givet, Olsson, Salgado, Pedersen, E-H Diouf, Dunn, Benjani, Hoilett, MB Diouf, Nzonzi, Kalinic, Doran, Morris, Hanley, Goulon, Lowe, Bunn.
LAST SEASON
Chelsea 1-1 Blackburn (21 March 2010)
REFEREE
Martin Atkinson
PREDICTION
On the plus side for us, Blackburn haven’t beaten us in our last 9 league games, even if they managed in the cup last season. On the downside for us though, we’ve only won one of our last nine games in the league this season. Blackburn meanwhile, have lost four of their last five away games and haven’t won at Stamford Bridge in their last seven visits either. Add to that us having a home record bettered only by United this season, could we dare hope for a win?
Blue is the colour
