By Mark Heys
April 26 2007

Bolton Wanderers hope to defy all the odds this coming Saturday as they travel down to London to take on the Premiership holders Chelsea.

No team has won at Stamford Bridge in the Premiership in over three years of trying and the Wanderers will certainly want to avoid a repeat of their last visit to the Bridge when they lost 5-1 after seeing Ricardo Gardner contraversially sent off for handball.

Last weekend's late collapse against Reading has put a dampner on the Wanderers UEFA Cup hopes but they still remain in and amongst the favourites to qualify for Europe regardless of what will happen against Chelsea.

Chelsea will be in high spirits following their midweek Champions League victory over Liverpool and Jose Mourinho will be looking for his side to record a fourth straight home win.

German midfielder Michael Ballack scored a header when these two sides met at the Reebok Stadium back in November to continue the Blues fine recent record against the Trotters.

The Blues have won four out of the last six meetings with Bolton's last success coming in December 2003 when a John Terry own goal gave Wanderers a victory in the final minute.

Bolton have a number of injury concerns going into this game with El-Hadji Diouf (hamstring), Tal Ben-Haim (knee), Abdoulaye Faye (foot) joining Joey O'Brien and Quinton Fortune on the sidelines.

Nicky Hunt (calf), Stelios Giannakopoulos (groin) and Kevin Nolan (ankle) face late fitness tests to determine whether or not they will play a part in the capital.

Ivan Campo returns from a one match suspension and there could be a first full start for Slovakian centre half Lubomir Michalik after he impressed as a substitute in the defeat against Reading.

Chelsea have Michael Ballack (ankle) on the treatment table for the foreseeable future and Arjen Robben is touch and go to make the game with Wanderers after suffering with a knee problem.

PREMIERSHIP RECORD

22/11/1995 CHELSEA 3 (Lee, Hall, Newton) BOLTON WANDERERS 2 (Curcic, Green)

08/04/1996 BOLTON WANDERERS 2 (McGinlay, Curcic) CHELSEA 1 (Spencer)

26/10/1997 BOLTON WANDERERS 1 (Holdsworth) CHELSEA 0

10/05/1998 CHELSEA 2 (Vialli, Morris) BOLTON WANDERERS 0

23/12/2001 CHELSEA 5 (Gudjohnsen, Hasselbaink, Zenden, Hendry (OG), Lampard) BOLTON WANDERERS 1 (Nolan)

12/01/2002 BOLTON WANDERERS 2 (Ricketts, Nolan) CHELSEA 2 (Gudjohnsen, Forssell)

23/11/2002 BOLTON WANDERERS 1 (Pedersen) CHELSEA 1 (Hasselbaink)

12/04/2003 CHELSEA 1 (C.Cole) BOLTON WANDERERS 0

13/12/2003 CHELSEA 1 (Crespo) BOLTON WANDERERS 2 (N'Gotty, Terry (OG)

13/03/2004 BOLTON WANDERERS 0 CHELSEA 2 (Terry, Duff)

20/11/2004 CHELSEA 2 (Duff, Tiago) BOLTON WANDERERS 2 (Davies, Jaidi)

30/04/2005 BOLTON WANDERERS 0 CHELSEA 2 (Lampard 2)

15/10/2005 CHELSEA 5 (Drogba 2, Lampard 2, Gudjohnsen) BOLTON WANDERERS 1 (Giannakopoulos)

15/04/2006 BOLTON WANDERERS 0 CHELSEA 2 (Terry, Lampard)

29/11/2006 BOLTON WANDERERS 0 CHELSEA 1 (Ballack)

PREMIERSHIP FORM GUIDE:

Played: 15

Won: 3

Drawn: 3

Lost: 9

CONNECTIONS

Anthony Barness, Jack Bradley, Robert Fleck, Eidur Gudjohnsen, Gerry Peyton, Ian Porterfield, Emerson Thome, Danny Winter.

IT HAPPENED WHEN BOLTON PLAYED CHELSEA

On this weekend exactly two years ago, two Frank Lampard goals gave Chelsea their first top flight title in half a century. Seven years previously the Blues had relegated a battling Bolton team at Stamford Bridge

Yugoslav midfielder Sasa Curcic scored two stunning goals for Bolton against the Blues in the 1995-96 season and both made Match of the Day's goal of the month competition.

The late Matthew Harding was tragically killed in a helicopter when coming back from Chelsea's Coca Cola Cup defeat at then Nationwide league Bolton in the autumn of 1996. Chelsea now have a stand named after their well liked former director

April 1983 saw a goal from the balding winger Clive Walker save the Blues from relegation against the Wanderers, but unfortunately for Bolton they eventually made the drop instead after a final day humiliation at Charlton Athletic.

Eidur Gudjohnsen served these two clubs with distinction. The Icelander relaunched his career with the Wanderers in the late 1990's and helped the club to three semi finals. He later joined Chelsea and helped the club gain back to back Premiership titles

Gudjohnsen has also inflicted misery on the Wanderers when as a Chelsea player. In December 2001 he scored in the Blues 5-1 rout over Bolton at Stamford Bridge and did likewise when his old club came to West London in October 2005, again a 5-1 scoreline being the difference.