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Preview: Chelsea vs Bolton

Preview: Chelsea vs Bolton


Preview: Chelsea vs Bolton

Although Chelsea know Man Utd need to slip up in order for the Blues to stand any chance of a Premiership title; they have come on strong in the final half of the season and fully deserve the opportunity to take the title on the final day as they host Bolton at Stamford Bridge.

So, Chelsea know they need a better result than Man Utd in order to secure the title as they prepare for a double header against United in both the Premiership final day and the Champions League final in Moscow.

Chelsea have battled back and despite his critics, Avram Grant must be praised for the way he has rescued Chelsea's season from the brink.

Bolton are theoretically pretty much safe this year, and Alex Ferguson already urged caution as Gary Megson's side had already celebrated this. Fergie was unhappy and presumed the Trotters would not be at their optimum level for today's game.

Grant talks big decisions

"My job is to take decisions and to take responsibility for the decisions," Grant said. "But the players understand. They've done a good job.

"On the other hand, there have been many tough decisions about players this season. A few of them have been injured, even what happened with Frank Lampard (whose mother passed away), but that's my job. To take responsibility.

"The players showed good character, good quality and, when we had not good moments, good recovery.

"That's been very important. It's not easy. It looks easy sometimes, chasing all the time, but it's not easy."

Teams

Chelsea Team: Petr Cech, Michael Essien, Alex, John Terry, Ashley Cole, Michael Ballack, Claude Makelele, Frank Lampard, Joe Cole, Didier Drogba, Florent Malouda.

Chelsea Substitutes: Cudicini, Belletti, Mikel, Kalou, Shevchenko.

Bolton Wanderers Team: Ali Al Habsi, Gretar Steinsson, Gary Cahill, Andy O’Brien, Jlloyd Samuel, Kevin Nolan, Gavin McCann, Joey O’Brien, El Hadji Diouf, Kevin Davies, Matt Taylor.

Bolton Wanderers Substitutes: Jaskelainen, Walker, Meite, Cohen, Stelios.