By Mark Heys
October 13 2005

Bolton Wanderers will be hoping to become the side that finally stops Premiership Champions Chelsea in their tracks this weekend as the two sides go head to head at Stamford Bridge.

The Blues are currently on the back of a remarkable run which has seen them only defeated once in the league since Jose Mourinho took over the West London club at the start of last season.

They are also undefeated throughout the course of this season, their last league defeat came in an away game at Manchester City exactly twelve months ago to the weekend but Bolton can take heart from the fact that they where one of four teams to come away from the Bridge with at draw in the last campaign.

Chelsea's last Premiership defeat at home came in February 2004 when the then title holders Arsenal won 2-1 to cancel out an opening minute goal from former Bolton favourite Eidur Gudjohnsen.

It will be a tall order for Wanderers but an order in which they are more than capable of holding their own as Chelsea do not have the best of records against the Lancashire club in the top flight.

Wanderers manager Sam Allardyce adds team captain Jay-Jay Okocha to an injury list which also includes first team regulars Ivan Campo and Nicky Hunt. Okocha was taken off in the last game against Wigan Athletic after suffering further effects of a troublesome groin problem.

Better news for Big Sam is that he has added new signing Martin Djetou to his ranks after the former Fulham player completed his switch to the Trotters in midweek having been without a club since leaving French club Nice in the summer.

Coach Ricky Sbragia is also likely to be on the Bolton touchline for the first time having resigned from his position at Manchester United this week to become the new First Team Coach in assistance to Allardyce and Sammy Lee.

Chelsea will be without their influential Irish winger Damien Duff after the ex-Blackburn Rovers favourite suffered a knee injury whilst on international duty with his country.

England star Wayne Bridge is still not quite ready to return to first team action despite playing a couple of games for the reserves recently after a foot injury.

Striker Eidur Gudjohnsen will be itching to face his former club but Blues manager Jose Mourinho has preferred the likes of Didier Drogba and Hernan Crespo to the Icelander in recent weeks.

Frank Lampard, Joe Cole, Shaun Wright-Phillips and John Terry are all back in domestic action after helping England qualify for next years World Cup Finals in Germany

Wanderers have won and drawn at the Bridge in the last two years so they will be hoping that their luck comes in three's this weekend to stop what is a formidable Chelsea outfit.

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)

PREMIERSHIP FORM GUIDE:

Played: 12

Won: 3

Drawn: 3

Lost: 6

CONNECTIONS

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

IT HAPPENED WHEN BOLTON PLAYED CHELSEA

In April 2005 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.

Ex-Wanderer Eidur Gudjohnsen scored twice against his old club when they first came back into the Premiership in the 2001-2002 season but he hasn't been able to hit the target against them since