Blog

TALKING POINTS
There was some symmetry in the two meetings between Chelsea and Wigan last
season - up to a point at least. Both home sides were leading 1-0 when
a key opponent - 'keeper Petr Cech
at the DW, defender Gary Caldwell at the Bridge - were shown a red
card. Within minutes of both incidents the visitors had conceded two
goals and were a man short.

The Latics clung on to their 2-1 lead against Chelsea's increasingly desperate attack before stinging the Blues with a breakaway third to
earn their first-ever victory over one of the Premier League's 'big
four.'

In the return, Carlo Ancelotti's men built extravagantly on their 2-0 foundation, running up an 8-0
tally on the last day of the season. Surely that will remain the most
emphatic way the title was won for a long, long time.

The troubled Latics must be wary of further humiliation. Following last weekend's action, on the two most recent league results,
the Londoners had notched 14 goals without reply, whereas Wigan have
scored none and conceded 12 - a disparity in goal differences,
incredibly, of 26.

If football outcomes could easily be extracted from such figures, though, every team would have a mathematician on their bench. In
reality, Wigan's ground has never been an easy place for Chelsea to
bring home the Premier League points.

After the 6-0 home defeat of West Brom some football sages moved swiftly from grudgingly predicting that Chelsea would retain the title
to pronouncing themselves bored of the inevitable outcome already.

Chelsea's management and players have remained unanimously unmoved by that hefty margin at the Bridge which, while welcome, flattered a
Blues side that showed signs of early season rust either side of the
break.

More to the point five of the six defeats - the most by any Premier League-winning side - in our last campaign came away from the Fulham
Road, with this fixture a jarring reminder that accommodation can,
unfortunately, be found for Mr Cockup.

The 1-3 defeat - another slightly misleading scoreline - at the DW Stadium last season was one of those games where the Blues hit a
lull, made sloppy errors and found it difficult to convert possession
into clear chances.Wigan will seek to emulate that performance and
improve their damaged morale.

Still, Carlo Ancelotti has emphasised the importance of a good start - pointing to the
six-game winning sequence that kicked-off the Double year - and the
West Brom game produced Chelsea's biggest ever opening day victory in
football's top tier, eclipsing the 6-1 recorded over a 'a smallish club
somewhere north of the M25' in August 1937.

The Blues' heftiest first-day salvo at any level was the famous 9-2 in 1906 when George 'Gatling-gun' Hilsdon fired in five on his debut.

Also on Saturday fit-again Didier Drogba became only the fourth player to net hat-tricks in successive Premier
League games.He will hope that is the platform for his third golden
boot in England.

A second successive Saturday evening slot will not be popular with all Chelsea fans, despite the cheaper, sponsored travel, and Arsenal
have the chance to edge ahead by seeing off buoyant freshers Blackpool.
The Tangerines, though, have not won at Arsenal since 1958 and the days
of Stanley Matthews.

Sir Alex Ferguson faces one of his accommodating former pupils at Craven Cottage on Sunday afternoon, while big-spending City will hope
to end a six-year drought without a home win when entertaining
Liverpool.