Posted by Lamin Oo
This Sunday, Chelsea will play bottom-of-the-league Bolton Wanderers at the Reebok stadium. Owen Coyle's side are not in great form -- losing the last five league games. They have often found themselves falling behind at the half-time whistle and they have been especially vulnerable right after the re-start. Their main goal threat (surprise, surprise!) comes from set-piece situations and high crosses. Here is my opposition scout report. Current Form...
Bolton are in a really bad run of form. Since beating newly promoted Queens Park Rangers 4-0 on the opening day of the season, Bolton has not gotten a single point from the five league games that followed. After conceding 16 goals and only scoring 8, they are now stationed at the bottom of the Premier League table. The latest injury set back for the American midfielder Stuart Holden and the constant transfer speculations surrounding defender Gary Cahill are making manager Owen Coyle's job even harder.
As I mentioned above, being able to go into half-time with a 0-0 scoreline against Arsenal was an improvement from Bolton's point of view. In all four league games prior to that, they were behind their opponents at the half-time whistle. Three-goal deficit against United and two-goal deficit against Norwhich, especially, left Bolton with a mountain to climb in the second half.
Plus, as even those who have never heard of Sigmund Freud know, being behind at half time put a team at a disadvantage psychologically. It puts a team in a funk that takes time to recover from. That might be the reason why the Wanderers are also most vulnerable in the 15 minutes after the half-time restart. They conceded the highest number of goals, 5, in the 46-60 minute time frame.
Chelsea will need to take advantage of Bolton's slow start and try to take the lead at half-time. It will not be easy task since, as we saw against Arsenal, Owen Coyle has tried to tightened Bolton's defense. Additionally, Chelsea are also slow starters like Bolton. So far in the league this season, the Blues have scored only four goals in the first half, while they found the back of the net eight times in the second half. It shouldn't be a surprise if this game displays little action in the first half only to become more open and explosive after the break.
Goal Threat...
Combine Petrov's crossing ability with the aerial threat of Kevin Davies and Gary Cahill and you have a solid formula to get goals. It is what makes them so threatening from set-piece situations. Of course, saying that Bolton are dangerous from set pieces is stating the obvious. Some of you are thinking, "While he's at it, he might as well tell us that Mario Balotelli is a spoiled brat or that Carlos Tevez is a mercenary".
But pointing out Bolton's goal threats from set pieces, I think, is relevant because Chelsea have had a hard time defending corners and free kicks this season. Manchester United's Young-to-Smalling goal and Swansea's Gower-to-Williams goal are the glaring examples of Chelsea's weakness. If Bolton do find the back of the net against Chelsea, it will most likely be from a set-piece situation or from high crosses into the box in open play.
What Needs To Be Done...
In order to claim victory, Chelsea will need to start strong and take advantage of Bolton's slow start. We must boss the game with early possession and finish the chances that are created. If Villas-Boas has learned anything from the mid-week Champions League game against Valencia, he will not put Juan Mata, who is offensively great but defensively irresponsible, in front of Jose Bosingwa on Chelsea's right. Especially with the threat of Martin Petrov down Bolton's left, Chelsea will need an attacker who can track back on Chelsea's right. And finally, Chelsea must, by one way or the other, learn to deal with Bolton's goal threat from set pieces and high crosses. It will require both great defensive organization and excellent awareness from goal keeper Petr Cech who must decide when to or not to come out for the long balls.
Carefree, wherever you may be...
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