The London Blues are winless in the last 5 matches, recording their last triumph in Champions League against horrible Zilina at home by narrow 2:1. They’ve had a few injury issues, primarily they were without their playmaker Lampard, who returned against Arsenal in an unsuccessful manner playing rather poor, while their injury list still consists of Alex, Benayoun and Zhirkov, while it is expected their striker Anelka will be back to the team after missing the Arsenal derby. Coach Ancelotti’s job is in question and after his team’s bad display from 3 days ago, a negative result here could mean the end of his Chelsea career.
A lot beyond the expectations
Bolton is playing a dream season and are currently 6th in the tables with only 2 points less than their today’s rivals Chelsea and it’s certain they’re coming to London full of confidence. Manager Coyle is leading the squad in an outstanding way and they’re playing extremely offensive and beautiful to watch. They’re a lot better at home than on the road but I think they’re more than capable of putting in a good display outside their Reebok stadium, which they’ve shown more than once so far. For this match, they’ll be without South-Korean Chung-Yong Lee, who is away at the Asian Cup with his national team. The injury list still consists of Samuel, Gardner, Davis and O’Brien.
Chelsea continues to struggle
I expect yet another tough match for Chelsea, which will most probably end in Chelsea losing a few more points as the Blues aren’t playing impressive at all for a long time now and are totally out of form, while Bolton is playing incredibly good this season and is arriving to London with lots of optimism. I’m gonna suggest you a bet on the visitors not to lose by more than 1 goal as the odds are really beautiful. This will most likely be my last bet in 2010.and I hope you’ll find it useful. Have a great New Years!
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Prediction:
Tip: 2 AH (+1.5)
Odd: 1.93
Bookie: Pinnacle
Chelsea are having a mini crisis, having lost three league games in the last 4 without scoring, so they will be eager to get back on track with a convincing performance against poor Zilina. Assistant coach Ray Wilkins was sacked, while there have been speculations that coach Carlo Ancelotti could have the same destiny, so expect the Italian boss to go out for a big win, despite some missings. The Blues will be without John Terry and Frank Lampard, but Michael Essien is available.
Worst defense
Zilina hold some undesired records, as they have the worst defence in this season`s CL with 15 goals conceded and they could brake the competition`s negative record of 19 goals conceded, while they also suffered the worst home defeat ever in the competition (0-7) against Olympique Marseille in their last game. They have only scored once in CL, while at the weekend they have suffered a league defeat too, for the first time after 25 games.
Clear Home Win
Chelsea are already guaranteed their place in the knockout round, after four straight wins, but Ancelotti`s lads need a morale boost win and could also set a club record by winning a fifth consecutive CL game for the first time. The guests will be looking to stay strong at the back and avoit another humiliation, but I doubt they can resist on Chelsea`s pressure.
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Prediction:
Tip: 1 EH(-2)
Odd: 2,50
Bookie: Bet365
Chelsea is cruising so far in Group F, winning 4 out of 4 games so far, scoring 12 goals and conceding only 2. They have won all their games by at least two goal difference and they are 99% qualified, needing only a point tonight to be sure. Still, they are in a bad run after a good start of the season and they need to bounce back as soon as possible. They are coming after 2 consecutive losses in Premier League, against Birmingham and Sunderland, not being able to score in none of these games, despite missing many chances. Lampard, Alex and Terry are still injured, but I doubt there defense will be put under any trouble tonight.
Very poor
Zilina is just one of the teams who reached the group stage due to Platini’s permissive system towards the clubs from the Eastern block. The truth is, CL is a way to big hat for this team. They don’t have the quality to play here and this was proven 4 times already, during their 4 group games played so far. They managed a decent performance at Marseille, losing only 0-1 and maybe deserving a little more, but they were trashed in all the other games. In their last one, they have lost 0-7 at home against the same Marseille, after a terrible performance. Their only purpose here is to allow the other teams to boost their goal difference, seriously.
Home win
Chelsea is in big need of a positive result and Zilina looks like the perfect victim. As I previously mentioned, the win is not mandatory for qualifying further but more to build the players’ morale. The class difference is huge here abd the Slovakian players will most likely have shaky legs tonight in London. The AH is big but it is more than realistic. A 3-0 Chelsea is the least I expect tonight, therefore backing the -2 handi looks like a good idea.
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Prediction:
Tip: 1 AH (-2)
Odd: 1.96
Bookie: 188Bet
Liverpool has streaked a couple of wins after their horrible series but I still think they are not strong enough to defeat a Chelsea side, regardless of the fact they will be playing in front of their loyal fans, who will again fill out the stands at the Anfield to its full capacity. Coach Hodgson has more than an excellent team at his disposal that can be fit into anything he would like, and Rafa didn’t manage to take an advantage of it, while Hodgson still has enough time to make things right. Torres, Kuyt, Babel, Jovanovic, all those are big names playing for the Reds. Liverpool is out from the big four and currently doesn’t even belong in the top 10 being 16th in the tables, which is just humiliating for this side. I think that despite of a few good results lately, and home field advantage, they won’t manage to outpower Chelsea, which is simply too strong this season.
Very strong
Chelsea is an excellent side. Ancellotti has really created a team that many are afraid of. They’ll be arriving to face Liverool with the intention of winning and will be going for it from the minute on. Bane Ivanovic is currently in the main focus on their squad, as he scored 3 goals in 2 matches and everybody is interested to see whether this back can get on a scoring streak like Drogba or Anelka for example in the upcoming matches. This squad is just too good, which was proved both in EPL and CL, and their only letdown came against Newcastle in the cup, as they got eliminated there. My opinion is that they are capable and most likely will win their 9th game of the season in the league.
It is a derby
This is certainly a derby regardless of the current Liverpool’s situation and their position in the tables. Liverpool started getting out of troubles but unfortunately Chelsea isn’t the best team that would help them totally get out of it, but if they do, they will definitely boost their morale and probably continue in the same rhythm. My advice is still an away win though.
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Prediction:
Tip: 2 AH (-0.75)
Odd: 2.59
Bookie: 188bet
Spartak is famous for their defensive play and artificial pitch. The artificial pitch is unusual for England though, so we could see Chelsea having problems playing on it. They are in good form, and top the group table alongside Chelsea. However, they will miss Alex and McGeady. Welliton could play some part, because he is recovering from an injury.
Chelsea looking for win
Chelsea are one of the best sides this season, and their every player is simply brilliant. Despite missing Drogba and Lampard, they are still very strong and will look for a win in this match. John Terry will be inspired surely, since this is the pitch where he could have won Chelsea the CL title. Chelsea would love a win, and with Spartak`s poor record against English sides they could well get one.
No goal conceded at home
The Russian team is great at home matches, and they don`t let goals in at all. They will look to do so in this match, and try to be unbeaten. I think they have a good chance, since Chelsea miss Drogba. Having seen their good defensive play at their artificial turf, I think they will manage to keep their net untouched. The under looks good.
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Prediction:
Tip: Under 2.25
Odd: 1.98
Bookie: Bet365
Chelsea is currently one of the most in-form sides in the world. Chelsea is also, according to everything shown at the beginning of the season, the main EPL title candidate. They have 3 points more than the 2nd placed Manchester United, and might even improve this gap after the sunday`s derby. They are superior in all parts of the field to their opponents not only physically but also tactically as the level of their football knowledge is just huge. They are almost a perfect team at the moment, not having too many flaws at all. They crushed Blackpool in just one half a few weeks ago, scoring 4 goals on them, but they got a bit disappointed by not being able to do much against Manchester City on the road. Later we`ve witnessed their full strength again against French Marseille in CL, where they dominated the entire match, eventually only winning by 2:0 hitting several posts and woodworks, even playing without Drogba, who should be back for this clash.
Not a good form
Arsenal is clearly missing half of their starting lineup and that just got to have an effect on their performances as no team can survive for too long without the majority of their key players, no matter how much quality they have as a whole. Wenger was furious after a loss to WBA last weekend at home so he asked his players to show their best on the road trip in Belgrade last Tuesday, when they again played quite below their standards but were lucky enough Partizan didn`t have enough quality to punish them. Arsenal might be boosted by the returns of Fabregas and Vermelen, but that will surely be a matchday decision. Arshavin is probably the only guy on their squad playing in superb shape, while their striker Chamakh is proving to be quite useful too, earning a penalty in Belgrade and even scoring one goal.
Chelsea to prove their class
A classy match awaits us this Sunday, surely one of the biggest derbies in England. Chelsea is currently looking much better as a whole and are rightfully favorites to win here. Arsenal will try to record a positive result and of course prove they are not to be written off in the title race, but I`m afraid that Wenger`s depleted side will have yet another trophy drought this season. Chelsea won the last 4 meetings between these two, only once not managing to win by 2 or more goals. I think they will dominate the match and win this one much more convincingly than everybody thinks.
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Prediction:
Tip: 1 AH (-1)
Odd: 2.23
Bookie: 188bet
Chelsea has been playing very bad for their standards, having 2 consecutive losses after a series of 6 wins before that. They want to end this short but very unpleasant negative streak against the Frenchies today, especially cause they’ll be playing Arsenal in EPL the following weekend so they want to be psychologically ready and full of confidence, which shouldn’t be too difficult to achieve as the teams of their level have a winning mentality and hardly fall into “depression”. Chelsea will be without quite a few important players like suspended Drogba, or injured Benayoun and Lampard. I think that despite those missings, Chelsea is the better side here and believe they can record their 2nd win in CL this season, this time in front of their fans and remain at the top of the tables.
Awaken
Marseille won in their domestic Ligue 1 over the past weekend and finally got up from the ashes where they’ve been stuck at in the beginning of this season. Still regardless of the awakening they’ve got very small chances to win in London and if they don’t take any points they will be at the rock bottom of their group. Taiwo scored a phenomenal goal for the weekend for OM and he is one of the few players that finally entered good form and are carrying their squad towards the winning ways. On the goal they’ve got Mandanda, who might prove to be a very tough man to beat on a good day. I do believe Marseille could even score a goal here, but doubt they can win. We’ll see what happens though.
Excellent match
This is the group derby and we should expect intense football on the pitch. Marseille side has finally got it going in their domestic league, winning a match after a while climbing to the 5th place. Chelsea, on the other hand, is playing pretty bad for their standards so one should expect them to be fully focused and to look for the openings in Mandanda’s net from the start till finish. My advice is the over, while I also think Chelsea will record a new win in CL and keep the 1st spot in the standings. Good luck!
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Prediction:
Tip: Over 3
Odd: 2.20
Bookie: 188bet
Despite not playing too brilliant, Manchester City are currently 4th in EPL, which is a place where they would like to end the season as well. Coach Mancini didn`t create some terrific team out of all the superstars he`s got yet, but they are doing the job regardless of playing quite average at times. They got knocked out of the Carling Cup the other day to WBA, but still have got a lot of ambitions both in EPL and the FA Cup and Europa League. It`s needless to talk too much about the quality they`ve got in their squad, and let`s just say they should be playing much better that they are doing right now considering how strong of a team they have – and I think this game is a perfect opportunity for them to show all of their potential.
Shocked by Newcastle
Chelsea is one of the main EPL and CL title candidates this season, and losing to Newcastle at home in the Carling Cup wasn`t really planned as Abramovich`s side is one of the most ambitious ones in the country, eager to win as many trophies as possible. They still underestimated Newcastle fielding some really inexperienced players, which cost them a defeat, but they once again showed they can score goals, and they do that with no problem. Just like it was the case against Blackpool at home last week, when they scored 4 in about 40 minutes, just to take it easy after that and bring the game to its closure with the same result on the scoreboard, controlling the match all throughout.
Huge battle
Although many of you would maybe think we`ll hardly see goals in this one due to careful approach by both sides, I`ve got to say I expect a fired up City and always ambitious and motivated Chelsea, and at least 3 goals. I am quite positive both sides will score at least a goal each due to their huge firepower up front, and creative individuals who are the main reasons these teams can score goals anytime, but I also doubt this match will end as a draw. I see a rather open game, and even though both teams have got solid defenses, they have even better attacks to confront their counterparts. 3 or more goals at the current price is worth some medium, high staking.
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Prediction:
Tip: Over 2.5
Odd: 2.03
Bookie: Pinnacle
Ancelotti`s side come into this toughie having struggled to 4 lucky wins. After scraping past West Brom and Wigan 6-0, they were gifted the match 2-0 by Stoke before West Ham pushed them to a 3-1 finish. It`s a hard life for some. Chelsea will be on a short week, having travelled back from their European game at Zilina, which they won 4-1. There are no injury worries here, as Lampard is expected back into the side that already saw captain John Terry resume his duties at the back. Didier Drogba and Malouda will be the other threats, and you`d be surprised if the two of them didn`t get on the scoresheet. Then theres also Essien and Anelka. There`s just too much depth here. Petr Cech remains in goal, and after a rare error led to Zilina`s consolation goal, he can be counted on to be focused throughout this match. That Blackpool have already scored a couple of upsets in their first season in the big league will only make Chelsea that much more concentrated in getting ahead quickly and then pulling away.
Tough opponent
Blackpool are in their first season playing in the Premier League, and already they have collected 6 points in games they had no business winning. No one gave them a chance at Wigan and Newcastle, but they came away with wins in both. Perhaps Blackpool really are a good plucky side, but I think they`ve overachieved and I`m putting their wins down to a lot of help from opponents who have a knack of shooting themselves in the foot. But, Blackpool still occupy the all important 4th place coveted by so many in this talented league. Their start to the season is bettered only by their opponents, along with Arsenal and Manchester United. Ian Holloway has his side attacking every team they play, and while it has worked against Wigan and Newcastle, the game at Arsenal showed what happens when they try that tactic with the wrong side. Chelsea is exactly that kind of side, and unless they play with a bit ore focus on defence, they`re going to get torn apart again.
Opening match
Blackpool have the 6 points from their opening 4 games to put towards their relegation fight. It`s more than I expected them to get after the first 5 games of the season, so I don`t think they`re going to be expecting to get anything here, no matter what they say on the telly. Damage limitation is all they`ll be thinking about. Chelsea will be trying to score 10.
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Prediction:
Tip: Over 3.5 goals
Odd: 1.93
Bookie: Extrabet
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