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Chelsea, after their 4-0 midweek win over Atletico Madrid, stay at Stamford Bridge for Saturday’s Premier League match against Blackburn. After another away defeat last Saturday at Villa, the Blues need to get their title charge back on track. The undoubted big game of the weekend occurs on Sunday when Liverpool take on Manchester United, but this is just as important. A win for Carlo Ancelotti’s men will lift them back above leaders Man United by two points, at least until Sunday, and then they will be watching the action at Anfield with a lot of interest.

Chelsea, who are currently fighting to get a FIFA transfer ban lifted until a decision has been made about their appeal against the embago, need to send a big message to Alex Ferguson about the sincerity of their challenge. Two sloppy away defeats is not title winning form, but they now have a change to start building more momentum, using their comfortable mid-week win as a springboard. Ancelotti may have a selection problem, after striker Soloman Kalou, who has been filling in in the European matches because of Didier Drogba’s ban, netted twice on Wedneday and looked quite sharp. His fellow Ivorian Coast partner Drogba is available again though, and it is likely that the senior player will get the nod. The Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka partnership has been working well over the past couple of seasons, and it is definitely the strongest line-up that Ancelotti can put out.

Frank Lampard found his goal-scoring touch for his club on Wednesday, his first since August, and that will have been met with a welcome sigh of relief. A midfield packed with Lampard, Deco, Ballack and Essien, it is no wonder why Chelsea are expected to push Manchester United all the way this season for the title. But, as predicted, the Premier League is a lot tighter than it has been for some time at the moment. Manchester, while winning, have not been overwhelmingly dominant, and with Liverpool’s slump in form, it has allowed teams like Tottenham, Arsenal and Manchester City to really get in amongst the action near the top.

It is a tough week for Blackburn, who are without an away win in the Premier League this year. After the visit to Stamford Bridge, they then travel to Old Trafford next Saturday. Their last away fixture ended in a tough to swallow 6-2 defeat at the hands of Arsenal. Chelsea have only conceded one goal at home, while Blackburn have only scored three on their travels. All indicators point to a strong home win, but a win for the Blues was expected when Chelsea travelled to Wigan and to Villa Park. It is something which did not happen though, both games ending in defeats for the London side.

But games at Stamford Bridge should be a different matter. With the crowd behind them and the chance to push Manchester United back down into second place, it should be a banker for Chelsea. Just as the Atletico Madrid game was perfect for them to get some confidence back, this is just the game against a bottom half of the Premier League team, to start building another one of their serious runs of going undefeated. It is likely Blackburn will come to defend and be physical, but Chelsea have the class to play their way through the heart of the Blackburn challenge.

Chelsea to win: 1/5 at SkyBet
Draw: 18/1 at Boylesports
Blackburn to win: 11/2 at Totesport

Betting Advice: Chelsea at home should be a dead cert, or as close to one as you can get in sport. They should be able to run out comfortable winners at a canter, and should be able to hold on to a clean sheet. The coaching staff will have had them working hard on defending set pieces after all the furore over their conceded goals leading to their loss at Villa.
Chelsea to win 2-0: 11/2 at Victor Chandler