PRE-MATCH BRIEFING: BOLTON WANDERERS V CHELSEA

TALKING POINTS
After such an emphatic win against the same opponents on Wednesday, Carlo Ancelotti's biggest fear may be that his players think another triumph over Bolton will be a formality three days later. The fact that Chelsea are aiming to end a run of two away league defeats on the spin should allow for no complacency whatsoever.

As was reported yesterday, Wednesday night's win recorded an eighth successive home clean sheet in all competitions, a new high in impervious goalkeeping by the Blues while in the top flight.  

KEY STAT Bolton Wanderers are the only side not to have kept a clean sheet in the Barclays Premier League this season.

However, our all-time best was established in 1927 in the old Second Division, when Sam Millington kept the opposition out ten times in succession from Cardiff City in the Cup in March to Notts County in the League in September. Unlike this recent run, though, three of the games were 0-0s.

Which brings us to the lack of draws this season. Ten league games have passed without a stalemate for the Blues, and the last time that happened was 1994/95. The 11th, drawn match was a 1-1 with Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough.

As we have frequently observed on this page, it is the draws that kill championship challenges. In losing to Villa but beating Liverpool, Chelsea emerged with three points. Two draws would have raised just two points.

Of course, it's better to win everything - as was almost the case away from home last season - but the confidence instilled by scoring 23 goals without reply in home matches this season must surely be reflected in away form soon enough.

The reassuring thing about playing Bolton in the Premier League straight after the cup win is that on six occasions in the last 15 years the Blues have faced back-to-back league and cup games, and four produced the same result in both encounters.

The games were as follows:
2005 Liverpool
Sep 28 Champions League (away) D 0-0
Oct 2 League (away) W 4-1 (pictured below)
2004 Arsenal
Feb 15 FA Cup (away) L 1-2
Feb 21 League (home) L 1-2
2002 Everton
Dec 4 League Cup (home) W 4-1
Dec 7 League (away) W 3-1
2002 Tottenham
Mar 10 FA Cup (away) W 4-0
Mar 13 League (home) W 4-0
1998 Arsenal
Feb 8 League (away) L 0-2
Feb 18 League Cup SF (home) W 3-1
1996 Wimbledon
Mar 2 League (away) D 1-1
Mar 9 FA Cup (home) D 2-2

This game arrives with more than a quarter of the campaign over. Carlo Ancelotti and his squad swap Lancashire for metropolitan Madrid on Tuesday evening - another back-to-back - and providing Professor Allardyce is wrong in his swine flu prediction, the return to fitness of several players is happening just at the right time.

Spurs have a decent track record of taking points off north London neighbours Arsenal in recent seasons, for all their failure to live up to early season hype. Locked together on 19 points, either would go level with Manchester United with a lunchtime win.

United themselves kick off the same time as Chelsea and face Blackburn, who are either rather good or extremely bad. They last won at Old Trafford in 2005.

Liverpool potentially face more capital punishment at Craven Cottage: Fulham have won on two of the Reds' last four visits.

Manchester City, whose matches always seem to lag behind the rest like Corporal Jones's foot, lost 3-1 at Birmingham in 2008, their most recent visit.

Barclays Premier League fixtures
Saturday
Arsenal v Tottenham 12.45pm - Sky Sports
Bolton v Chelsea 3pm
Burnley v Hull 3pm
Everton v Aston Villa 3pm
Fulham v Liverpool 3pm
Portsmouth v Wigan 3pm
Stoke v Wolves 3pm
Sunderland v West Ham 3pm
Manchester Utd v Blackburn 5.30pm - Setanta
Sunday
Birmingham v Man City 4pm - Sky Sports

The race for the Premier League Golden Boot
Torres (Liverpool) 9
Bent (Sunderland) 8
Drogba (Chelsea) 8
Defoe (Tottenham) 6
Rooney (Man Utd) 6
Saha (Everton) 6

Nicolas Anelka is returning to his old club where he scored 21 times in 53 Premier League appearances.

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