English Premier League Week 10 Preview: Blackburn Hope To Hold Off League Leaders Chelsea

League leaders Chelsea travel to Blackburn on Saturday, seeking to further their lead over Arsenal and the Manchesters, all who have 17 points. Blackburn sit just above the relegation zone and hope to find a way to impress probable new owners Venky's. Unfortunately for the Rovers, the Indian group has stated that they'll be happy to take charge of a midlevel club, which is about all Blackburn aspire to anyway. Chelsea struggled at Ewood Road last season, coming away with a 1-1 draw, but Blackburn have won just once at home this season, beating Everton 1-0 in their opening fixture.

Key Battle: Blackburn's center backs, Chris Samba and Ryan Nelsen, against Chelsea center forward Didier Drogba. Drogs hasn't scored since the Arsenal match, almost a month ago, and even accounting for his illness, you know he's getting itchy. Will the Blackburn defense be able to hold him back? The Rovers have only once allowed more than two goals this year, and that was in a Carling Cup match. But then again, they've yet to face the free-scoring Blues.

Battle Within The Battle: Blackburn are still struggling with their reputation as an overly physical side, but when set to battle a team with 25 goals in the season, it seems unlikely they'll try to change their tactics. With Chelsea having conceded just two goals, the Rovers might just sit back and play to a draw, while trying their best to disrupt the play of Ashley Cole, Florent Malouda, Jose Bosingwa and, of course, Didier Drogba.