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Premier League Betting: Kalou could be key as Chelsea take on Wigan

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Mike Norman can't offer Latics fans much optimism as the Blues attempt to keep the heat on Man Utd

And then there were two! Arsenal's defeat at Old Trafford yesterday means they are now firmly out of the title race. Shame really, Wenger's boys have played some scintillating football at times this season, but in the end it was a lack of squad depth (rather than youth and inexperience) that saw them fall short. A few new faces in the summer should see Arsenal mount a serious challenge next season.

Chelsea put their title aspirations on the line this evening against a Wigan team that will feel one more win will see them safe from relegation. Despite being six points behind leaders Manchester United, I'm surprised that Chelsea are still available at [6.2] for the title. They should win their game in hand tonight, and then they play United at Stamford Bridge (where they haven't lost in over four years) before the season ends. Manchester United are as low as [1.19] to retain their title, while Lancashire rivals Wigan are [20.0] to be relegated, behind hot favourites Fulham ([1.17]) and Bolton ([1.49]).

History & Current Form

The Blues have only ever faced The Latics on ten occasions, and it's Wigan who got off to the better start by winning two cup ties in the early eighties. Since then Chelsea have dominated, winning the last seven clashes, including all five Premiership games. Early goals from Lampard and Belletti saw Chelsea win the reverse fixture 2-0 back in November.

Chelsea are on an unbeaten run of 16 games in the Premiership that has seen them claw their way back into the title race. They have only conceded one first half goal in their last dozen league games. Wigan's home form (four wins and a draw from their last five games) has seen them inch away from the relegation zone, but their away form remains very poor (just one draw from their last five games).

Team News & Key Men

Other than the well documented problems he has in goal, Avram Grant has a fully fit squad to choose from for tonight's game, though he has given nothing away as to which eleven he will eventually start with. Steve Bruce has only Erik Edman as a long term absentee and has both Michael Brown and Jason Koumas available again after suspension.

Chelsea have been beaten three times in the Premiership this season and surprisingly John Terry was a starter in all of those defeats - but his fellow centre back Ricardo Carvalho has never been on a Chelsea losing team when he has started a league game this term. The same can be said of Michael Ballack and Salomon Kalou, so taking a statistical approach it's Carvalho, Ballack and Kalou that appear key for Chelsea, rather than the much touted Terry, Lampard and Drogba.

Betfair Markets

Chelsea are red hot favourites to take all three points at [1.23], with the draw being available at [6.8], and a Wigan victory at [20.0]. The Blues have led 17 times at half-time, and gone on to win 16 of those games - so the omens are good for a 'Chelsea/Chelsea' success in the 'Half-Time/Full-Time' market if they can score in the first period - this can be backed at [1.74], with 'Draw-Chelsea' being available at [4.8]. Braver (or crazier) punters might be interested in 'Wigan/Wigan' at [46.0] or even 'Chelsea/Wigan' at staggering odds of [170.0].

Chelsea's most popular winning score this season has been 1-0 (eight times in the league), with their second most popular being 2-0 (six times), and a repeat of any of those scores can be backed at [7.2] and [6.2] respectively. Those scores would also indicate that 'Under 2.5 Goals' is the most likely outcome (available at [2.1]), though it's worth remembering that Avram Grant's men have scored four or more goals in a single game on five occasions this season - 'Over 2.5 Goals' can be backed at [1.9] and 'Over 3.5 Goals' at [3.15].

For a midfielder, Frank Lampard has done well to be the first Chelsea goalscorer on six occasions in the league this season, and he can be backed at [5.9] to net first in the game tonight. The favourite, as you would expect, is Didier Drogba at [4.5], but it might be worth taking a look at a few of those key men I mentioned earlier - Kalou is [7.8] to score first, while Ballack is [9.2]. The first Wigan player to appear in the list is Emile Heskey, and he can be backed at [15.5] to silence the home crowd with the opening goal.

To score at anytime during the game Salomon Kalou is tempting at odds of [3.6]. He has already netted against bottom of the table teams like Derby, Fulham and Bolton, as well as scoring against Newcastle and Manchester City who were in poor form at the time. Didier Drogba has only scored once this season against teams currently in the bottom six (against Reading back in August) - he is available at odds of [1.9] to buck that trend tonight.