Fernando Torres is due for a Chelsea goal
The Spanish striker has been on a scoring drought since arriving at Stamford Bridge. Reuters

While Chelsea is coming off its best results of the season on a March 1st victory over Manchester United, their opponents on Monday are coming off one of their worst.

Blackpool have had their struggles this season, but a 4-0 loss at Wolverhampton's Molineux Stadium on February 26th, was among the lowest points in the season.

Playing with 10 men, Blackpool surrendered three extra goals after forward DJ Campbell was shown a red card in the 43rd minute.

Now the Seasiders host Chelsea at Bloomfield Road, and will be without Campbell and midfielder Charlie Adam, who is also serving a suspension, as they look to rebound from that frustrating defeat.

Expect expensive Chelsea forward Fernando Torres to get on the board. The Spanish striker will get chances to score his first goal as a member of the Blues, and vulnerable Blackpool seem like a strong candidate for him to get the monkey off his back.

I know I'm here to score goals, Torres said to Chelsea TV.

It's the job of the striker, so hopefully I can score the first and I'm sure it will be the first of many.

If Torres needs more motivation to open up his goal scoring account, he can look no further than Blackpool manager Ian Holloway's recent remarks.

Is he worth that money? I don't think anyone is. Do I agree with it? No. Can I do anything about it? No. But if people are going to pay it, then he is. If someone wants to pay me £50m for my house I'll bloody sell it to him! , said Holloway in a recent interview.

Those aren't particularly harsh words, and Holloway still regards Torres as among the best strikers in the world, but the financial criticism was directed at the former-Liverpool striker, so that has to add extra incentive for Torres to score.

The incentive for the rest of Chelsea is obvious: build off the Tuesday victory over Manchester United.

The Blues had a strong second half against the Red Devils in their match at Stamford Bridge, and certainly needed a moral boost.

A victory over Blackpool would place Chelsea within two points of Manchester City, who are in third place, and the Citizens have played in 29 games, while today's match will be Chelsea's 28th.

Blackpool is in danger of being relegated if they slump in their last 10 games, as they are only two points ahead of third-to-last Birmingham.

Campbell and Adam, Blackpool's two leading goal scorers, have 16 goals between them. The loss of the tandem leaves Holloway with few scoring options.

PROBABLE LINEUPS:

Blackpool

G: Kingson

D: Eardley, Evatt, Cathcart, Baptiste

M: Vaughan, Sylvestre, Southern

F: Varney, Beattie, Kornilenko

Chelsea:

G: Cech

D: Ivanovic, Terry, Luiz, Cole

M: Lampard, Ramires, Essien, Malouda

F: Torres, Drogba