7:45 PM GMT 2:45 PM EST US TV: Live from 2:30PM on FSC & SDD 11PM FSC UK TV: Chelsea TV from Wednesday at 10PM CN TV: SDD 8:30PM Setanta Sports Canada League Position Chelsea FC 15-5-3, 40 PTS, 3rd Place (-4) Reading 6-4-13, 22 PTS, 14th Place (-32) Live on Big Blue Official Chelsea FC Website News on Soccernet Team Talk Chelsea BBC-Chelsea Latest Chelsea News From Google Other Fixtures (EST) US TV Tuesday, January 29, 2008 2:45 ET Arsenal v Newcastle Live FSC 3:00 ET Bolton v Fulham SDD 5PM FSC 3:00 ET Middlesbrough v Wigan Live Setanta Xtra 3:00 ET Sunderland v Birmingham Live Setanta Wednesday, January 30, 2008 14:45 ET Derby v Man City SDD 6PM Setanta 14:45 ET West Ham v Liverpool Live Setanta Xtra 15:00 ET Everton v Tottenham SDD 5PM FSC 15:00 ET Man Utd v Portsmouth Live Setanta
that's the day i go back to work! bastards. a better pitch and thusly a better result. my prediction is chelsea 4-1 reading. anelka, joe cole, and alex score before stephen hunt knocks in a rebound. pizarro scores the late 4th to seal it.
they're going to come out full-throttle. they've nothing to lose. however, either they've been playing poorly this year (save the spuds games) or i remember them as being more effective last year with loads of the same names. i think the best way to describe them is erratic. if we have ballack back, there will be no problems beating them. if not, we'll still beat them but will have a scrappier time of it.
Missing: Terry Alex Carv Lamps Drogba Mikel Kalou Essien Ballack Can't think of any otherbut Damn this will be tough
I'm at college and I can only get setanta up here on my pc. Ballack and Sheva should be back I think, they are training this week.
Seven days must elapse before a suspension for accumulated yellow cards is served. For once, the FA's rules are working in our favor here.
Portsmouth relies on ex-Arsenal players and Africans more than we do. This who they could be missing: Utaka. Kanu. Benjani. Diop Muntari. Lauren. All are possibly away.
Benjani? where did he go? he's not out for the ACN is he? didn't he get a hat trick just a week and half ago or so? injury?
Ahhh, I though it was a 7-day suspension, meaning they'd miss both Well I feel a little better I guess....
For the Lamp bashers, guess who has/had the most shots on target for the Club this season as of last Friday: . . . . . . . Lampard - 31 Kalou - 25 Drogs - 21 Cole J - 18 Sheva - 17 Given the games missed speaks to the quality and value of Lampard and Drogs, and hate to be mean but I was a bit suprised to see Kalou get that many between the posts, perhaps like Drogs his finishing will come togeather next year in year 3 Also speaks to how bad we needed Anelka and perhaps one more this summer
No Benjani is playing, Utaka, Kanu and Muntari are gone and Baros will be probably playing Hopefully Ivanovic is as good as represented, though regardless it is unfair to expect too much first match out, because Benjani can torch Ben Haim. Definatly a Mak must start match
Err guys, we are playing reading first Reading are defensively hapless as of now and i think we can put atleast 2/3 past them. They may get one back
er...we were discussing when the suspensions of both Carv and Alex take effect and are we better or worse off that they take place against Portsmouth or Reading
Reading have been very erratic this year and that's putting it mildly, initially they seemed as if it was as you were at the start of the year and then they went into free fall, now they are looking a little too closely at the relegation zone. Coppell is a good manager but the team can look okay one minute and give you a tough game and totally hapless the next and let goals in galore. They haven't won away all season I don't think and I have a feeling that is a form which will continue on Wednesday. A win for us but don't have a club by how many goals!
it may seem a little random, but how fast is ivanonic. as much as i've liked Alex and what he's been doing, he's not that fast. we're going to need some speed in the back when we come up against portsmouth. carv i think is tactically strong enough to make up for any lack of speed, another reason i would prefer him to miss this game with reading. i just don't think they have the speed of portsmouth. that being said, reading is capable when they choose to be. i still feel more confident in this game.
true enough but at least we have them at home, so they may be more defensive and they are not as solid all around, but we should still have enough to beat either team, though I expect neither to be easy, especially Portsmouth away, tough place to play We have seemed to have Porstsmouth's number the last coulpe of years so hopefully it carries over and Ivanovic instantly endears himself to the faithful and Ben Haim steps up, he did have plenty of good games for Bolton,