Premier League Preview: Chelsea vs. Bolton Wanderers

When Jose Mourinho returned to Stamford Bridge in March and knocked his former charges out of the Champions League many wrote off Chelsea's chances of salvaging anything from this season.

A 1-1 draw at Blackburn Rovers soon after seemed to confirm those suspicions, but since then Carlo Ancelotti's side have rocketed to the top of the league and looked invincible in the process.

An impressive 17 goals in four games, including a 2-1 win over title rivals Manchester United at Old Trafford, have placed the Blues firmly in the driving seat for Premier League glory.

That was further boosted with United's 0-0 draw at Blackburn - perhaps making Chelsea's draw at Ewood Park seem not such a bad result - meaning the Blues can go four points clear with a win over Bolton on Tuesday.

Chelsea have only lost once at home all season and have hit a staggering 52 goals at Stamford Bridge, which is more than Bolton have managed anywhere in the league (36).

Bolton should avoid relegation, giving them little to play for, but Chelsea's incentive of a Premier League title, which would make up for the disappointment of crashing out of the Champions League, will give them plenty to play for.

Carlo Ancelotti told reporters he didn't agree with Sir Alex Ferguson after the United manager said this match would be "easy" for Chelsea, but secretly he must be thinking it will be.

FORM

Chelsea
Mar 21: Blackburn 1-1 Chelsea (Premier League)
Mar 24: Portsmouth 0-5 Chelsea (Premier League)
Mar 27: Chelsea 7-1 Aston Villa (Premier League)
Apr 3: Man Utd 1-2 Chelsea (Premier League)
Apr 10: Aston Villa 0-3 Chelsea (FA Cup)

Bolton
Mar 9: Sunderland 4-0 Bolton (Premier League)
Mar 13: Bolton 4-0 Wigan (Premier League)
Mar 20: Everton 2-0 Bolton (Premier League)
Mar 27: Bolton 0-4 Man Utd (Premier League)
Apr 3: Bolton 0-1 Aston Villa (Premier League)

TEAM NEWS

Chelsea
Carlo Ancelotti has admitted he will rest Deco and Joe Cole for the visit of Bolton, replacing them with Michael Ballack and Salomon Kalou.

Right-back Branislav Ivanovic is expected to return to the squad after recovering from his injured knee. However, Michael Essien (knee); Ashley Cole (ankle); Ricardo Carvalho (ankle) and Jose Bosingwa (knee) are all sidelined

Last starting XI (v Aston Villa): Cech, Ferreira, Terry, Alex, Malouda, Deco, Zhirkov, Lampard, Joe Cole, Mikel, Drogba.

Bolton
Midfielders Mark Davies and Ricardo Gardner both return for the trip to Stamford Bridge. Davies missed Wanderers’ last match - the 1-0 defeat at home to Aston Villa - on April 3 with injury while Gardner has not played since the 4-0 reverse at Sunderland just over a month ago.

Manager Owen Coyle is still without long-term injury victims Stuart Holden, Chris Basham, Gavin McCann, Sean Davis and Joey O’Brien.

Last starting XI (v Aston Villa): Jaaskelainen, Knight, Cahill, Robinson, Ricketts, Cohen, Muamba, Wilshere, Lee, Kevin Davies, Elmander.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Chelsea
French winger Florent Malouda has been in blistering run of form lately, with seven goals in as many games. Bolton will need to shackle the left-winger if they are to stem Chelsea's flow.

Bolton
With most of the action likely to be in the Bolton box, Jussi Jaaskelainen will have his work cut out between the Trotters sticks. The Finnish stopper has a history of match-winning performances, and another would be great for Owen Coyle's men.

Carlo Ancelotti Refuses To Indulge In 'Mind Games' With Sir Alex Ferguson

Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti has refused to be drawn into "mind games" with Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson.

The Manchester United manager suggested on Sunday that the title was the Blues' to lose in the wake of his side's 0-0 draw with Blackburn Rovers, citing the west London club's easier run-in as one just reason.

But Ancelotti declined the opportunity to make too much of the Scot's claims.

"I hope that Alex is correct," Ancelotti said in his press conference before Tuesday's clash with Bolton Wanderers.

"Maybe before you can say it will be easy, but I haven't played an easy game this season.

"To play and win at Blackburn is not easy. They're a strong team at home. They drew against United, and that was a good result for us, but only if we win tomorrow."

Ferguson is well-known for attempting to use mind-games to gain an advantage against opponents, and has gained success against the likes of Kevin Keegan in the past, but the former AC Milan boss seems reluctant to rise to the bait.

"No, it's mind games. Ferguson is clever," Ancelotti noted.

"On paper we are favourites against Bolton, but only on paper. It's normal that Chelsea will win in theory, but we need to go out and achieve this.

"The title is in our hands. We are able to do our best, to maintain this level, we can win it.

"Maybe, if we are able to do this on Tuesday, it could be a very important step towards winning the title."

Ancelotti also revealed that club captain John Terry has spoken to Aston Villa midfielder James Milner to check on his progress, after a rash challenge in Saturday's FA Cup semi-final 3-0 win had left the midfielder injured.

"I think the yellow card was right," the Italian said of the controversial tackle.

"I saw the tackle on the television. John touched the ball before making contact with Milner.

"I know that Terry called Milner and, for Milner, it was okay. I think the decision of the referee was right."

A club spokesman subsequently confirmed the defender had texted Milner, but had not felt the need to apologise for the tackle.

Juliano Belletti Suggests FA Cup Final Might Be His Last Game For Chelsea

Chelsea's versatile squad member Juliano Belletti has revealed the club's FA Cup final against Portsmouth might be his final game for the club.

The Brazilian has been strongly linked with a return to his homeland all season, with a move to Flamengo in January blocked by the club, but has admitted he still doesn't know whether his future lies at Stamford Bridge.

"Maybe it [the FA Cup final] will be my last game for Chelsea," Belletti posted on his Twitter account.

"My contract ends in June and I still haven't decided where to go."

However, the 33-year-old has no plans of retiring and announced his ambitious target to follow in the footsteps of famous countrymen Pele and Romario and score 1,000 goals in his career.

"I'm not thinking of retiring. I will try to reach my 1,000th goal... I'm 950 short," he joked.

Hilario To Reject Sporting Lisbon; Chelsea Keeper Wants To Stay In London

Portuguese newspaper A Bola reports this morning that Henrique Hilario is set to reject an offer from Sporting Lisbon as the veteran goalkeeper wants to stay at Chelsea.

The 34-year-old custodian has one season left on his contract at Stamford Bridge and is happy in London where his two sons are settled.

Sporting Lisbon has targeted Hilario for the 2010/2011 campaign but Hilario is not keen to return to Portugal or Portuguese football.

Besides the fact he is on good wages at Chelsea, his family are happy in London and he does not want to take his sons (aged 7 and 10) out of the school they currently attend.

Hilario has made four appearances for Chelsea this season as backup for Blues number one Petr Cech.

Borini Talks Continue

Chelsea striker Fabio Borini is still in talks with the club over a new deal, according to his agent.

The 19-year-old joined the Blues in July last year having initially moved to Stamford Bridge as a trainee, and he has impressed since then.

He has featured eight times in the first-team squad and his agent Marco De Marchi has revealed the youngster's intent.

"Borini has not renewed his contract with Chelsea, we are doing the negotiations to reach an agreement," he told tuttomercatoweb.

"The intention is obviously to stay; he has great esteem for the club and the coach."

The Italy Under-21 international spent six years with Bologna as a youth before moving to London.

Fabio Capello Is Left To Tackle New John Terry Furore

Martin O’Neill is demanding an apology from John Terry over the tackle that angry Aston Villa players say could have broken James Milner’s leg.

England manager Fabio Capello was at Wembley and is now facing another Terry row to patch up before the World Cup.

There was no Terry apology on Saturday after Chelsea’s FA Cup semi-final triumph and relationships between Terry and Milner are strained.

Milner refused to comment afterwards and with him and Terry both expected to be on the plane to South Africa, the bad feeling could leave Capello with another major problem to solve.

Wayne Bridge has already refused to go to the World Cup because of Terry’s affair with his former girlfriend.

When asked about the tackle, Milner said. “The leg’s not too bad. I don’t know about the tackle. I don’t want to talk about that to be honest.”

But Villa team-mate John Carew was in no doubt that Terry, who was booked by referee Howard Webb for the second-half tackle, could have broken Milner’s leg and O’Neill claimed he should have been sent off.

“I saw it from close range and he could have sent Milner’s lower leg up into the stand if he hit him right,” said Carew. I have seen people get red-carded for less. There are a lot of tackles that can break people’s legs which are not even that dangerous. But that one was very dangerous because he launched in with a straight leg. If Terry had hit the leg and it had been planted on the ground he would have broken it.”

O’Neill wanted an apology from Terry straight after the game.

Carlo Ancelotti Reveals Roman Abramovich's Hands-On Style At Chelsea

Carlo Ancelotti has revealed the extent of Roman Abramovich's involvement in first-team affairs at Chelsea, telling the club's official magazine that the owner "wants to know everything".

"Roman is very interested, for sure, in his team," he said. "We meet maybe once a month and when he doesn't have to travel with his job he likes to stay in Cobham [where Chelsea has their training ground]. We discuss everything. He likes football, Chelsea, the players and he wants to know everything – about injuries, the balance of the team, tactics."

Ancelotti also spoke warmly of his assistant manager, Ray Wilkins. Having spent three years playing for Milan in the 1980s and also worked at the club under another Italian manager, Gianluca Vialli, Wilkins provides essential translation services. "I have difficulty to understand sometimes but I have a very good assistant," Ancelotti said. "He's not only an assistant, he's a friend and he speaks very good Italian. And so he helps me to understand. It's not easy because when you speak to the team you have to not only speak, you have to show emotion as well.

"The first time I was angry with the players I tried to shout at them in English – it was impossible! Now the players know that when I speak in Italian, I am angry!"

The 50-year-old, whose side is top of the league and in the FA Cup final, promising a golden conclusion to his first season in English football, said that Italy could learn much from the English game.

"I saw a lot of Premier League games last year," he said. "The surprise for me is the atmosphere around the stadium and inside the stadium. It is very good and different to Italy. In Italy it is hard to find a full stadium and it's very easy to have violence in the stadium – this is not good. Here there are no police, no barriers, just a fantastic atmosphere.

"I think England had the same problem about 20 years ago with the hooligans and other problems, but you changed the rules and respected them. Italy tried to change the rules, but there is not the respect, so we have a big problem. I hope Italy can have the culture that I found here."