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Chelsea v Swansea: Back Welsh club to avoid defeat

| 09.01.2013

Chelsea have a number of injury concerns ahead of tonight’s Capital One Cup semi final first-leg clash with Swansea, though perennially under-fire striker Fernando Torres looks set to return to the starting line up.

The Spaniard can be backed at 7/2 to open the scoring in this fixture, as he did on the Swans’ previous visit to Stamford Bridge, yet he will have to get by without the support of Petr Cech, John Terry, John Obi Mikel and Victor Moses.

This list of key absentees should give the Welsh club added confidence of taking something from the game as they bid to reach their first major cup final, as will the rocky patch of home form the Blues are enduring at the moment.

With just one Chelsea win in their previous seven domestic outings, the Swans needn’t fear the worst ahead of this clash, especially when you consider the fact that they’ve lost just one of their previous seven on the road.

Their FA Cup draw with Arsenal at the weekend was their fourth in a five-match unbeaten run and a sixth would suit them down to the ground ahead of the second leg at the Liberty Stadium.

The draw can be backed at 7/2 here making it an enticing match punt and, should the game end all square, Ladbrokes will refund all losing first goalscorer bets as a free bet.

In contrast to the draw, Chelsea’s 2/5 favouritism should not be given the time of day. Instead, give some serious consideration to the away team’s mammoth price of 13/2 to emerge victorious, as they have done in three of their four trips to the capital this season.

They have conceded just once on their way to collecting these three wins and, with the Blues failing to breach QPR’s easily-breached defence in their previous match at the Bridge, the Swansea win to nil at 10/1 should not be dismissed either.

All odds and markets accurate as of publication’s time and date

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Author

James Middleton