Premier League: Blackburn Rovers vs. Chelsea - A tactical preview
Five points ahead of the chasing pack in the English Premier League, Chelsea clash with the Blackburn Rovers on Saturday. Rovers are currently languishing in 17th
place after collecting just 9 points from as many matches this season.
Although Chelsea are on top of the Premier League, they haven’t been firing on all cylinders recently. The Londoners recorded a less than convincing home win against Wolverhampton Wanderers last weekend, and have only managed 1
point from their last 2 away matches.
For the Rovers game, complacency will be the main worry for Carlo Ancelotti. Recently, Chelsea haven’t been able to dispatch teams as easily as they did at the start of the season, and pundits believe the Blues have taken their
foot off the gas.
The men from North London, however, have been rock-solid at the back. With a draw against Wolves last week, they registered their 8th consecutive clean sheet at home in the league this season.
Their captain John Terry was pretty happy about the achievement.
The big central said, “We’ve been defending not just as a back four but as a back five also because Big Pete (Petr Cech) has been exceptional this year. I’m playing alongside some of the best in the world with Ashley Cole, Ivanovic
or Alex, and we’ve seen Bosingwa come back as well - coming in for Paulo, who’s been brilliant.”
Chelsea have been boosted by the return of Jose Bosingwa in the Chelsea line-up; with him and left-back Ashley Cole in the side, the Blues have a lot going forward. But with the full backs attacking from both wings, Chelsea might
be exposed at the back.
Blackburn Rovers haven’t been able to win at home since the opening day of the season when they beat Everton 1-0. Rovers have been bolstered by the return of their centre backs Ryan Nelson and Christopher Samba; both players missed
the match against Liverpool at Anfield. Manager Sam Allardyce has admitted that his team can’t afford to play without the physical presence of their key players.
While commenting on his side’s overall performance this season, he said, “On reflection as early as this, I think it’s about us not being really able to cope with too many injuries. I think we lose our size and our capabilities
at both ends of the field on set pieces, and the aerial presence of those players is very important indeed. It’s a massive part of the game in the English Premier League and if you’re not good enough in the air, you’ll get punished.”
If Nelson and Samba are back in the side, Blackburn may be able to cope with the attacking threat of Didier Drogba.
1v1 battle: Michel Salgado vs. Florent Malouda
Blackburn right-back Michel Salgado is on the end of his career and many are doubtful of his defensive powers to contain the high-flying Chelsea winger, Florent Malouda. On the other hand, Malouda has been in sensational form this
season having scored 7 goals in 9 matches. Salgado will be relying on his centre-back Christopher Samba to help him cancel any threat posed by the Frenchman, whereas the Chelsea winger will be looking to capitalize on any 1v1 situation against the former Real
Madrid full-back.
Blackburn will form the 4-5-1 formation, and having two wingers in the form of Morten Gamst Pedersen and El-Hadji Diouf, will attack from wider positions of the pitch. However, Chelsea will play with the usual 4-3-3 setup.
Chelsea’s probable starting 11: Petr Cech, Jose Bosingwa, Alex Da Costa, John Terry, Ashley Cole, John Obi Mikel, Michael Essien, Yuri Zhirkov, Nicholas Anelka, Florent Malouda, Didier Drogba.
Blackburn Rovers’ probable starting 11: Paul Robinson, Phil Jones, Christopher Samba, Michel Salgado, Ryan Nelson, Morten Gamst Pedersen, Brett Emerton, Martin Olsson, David Dunne, El-Hadji Diouf, Nikola Kalinic.
Match Prediction:
Although Ewood Park has never been the easiest place to go for away teams, Chelsea will be too strong for Blackburn and will win the game 2-1.
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