LARS Bohinen is ready to stake his claim for a place in the final countdown for Europe when Blackburn Rovers visit Stamford Bridge for their last Premiership game of the season on Sunday.

The Norwegian international, who returned to first team duty as a second-half substitute on Saturday, will be aiming to challenge for a full-time recall against Chelsea after two reserve team outings.

Bohinen completed a full 90 minutes on Monday and, significantly perhaps, was taken off midway through the second half of last night's Pontin's League encounter.

The midfield man was uninjured and has some match fitness behind him now, so Rovers boss Ray Harford presumably had Sunday's showdown in mind.

Billy McKinlay, who was sent off for a second yellow card offence at Ewood last Saturday, could find his place most under threat if Harford decides to recall Bohinen.

Unless, of course, the manager was to change tactics to accommodate an extra midfielder, which is always a possibility against a side such as Chelsea whose strengths are concentrated in that area. Rovers know they have to win at Stamford Bridge to have any chance of claiming that final UEFA Cup place.

But they still remain long-shot outsiders with fierce competition from Arsenal, who remain in the driving seat, Everton and Tottenham. Still, it's a bonus that the battle is going to the last day, ensuring interest all the way to the end following Arsenal's stumble at home to Liverpool last night.

The Gunners would have been beyond Rovers' reach if they had won instead of being held 0-0.

Remaining games for the other teams involved are: Arsenal v Bolton, Leeds v Spurs, Newcastle v Spurs, Everton v Aston Villa.

Rovers will be assured of plenty of support at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, having already sold nearly 1,100 tickets.

Priced £20 - with no concessions offered by Chelsea - tickets will stay on sale at Ewood until lunchtime tomorrow.

Any remaining seats will be available at the Stamford Bridge ticket office on Sunday.

Christophe Dugarry and Zinedine Zindane, the two French stars watched recently by Rovers, both missed last night's first leg of the UEFA Cup final between Bayern Munich and Bordeaux because of suspension.

Rovers boss Ray Harford made a recent trip to Bordeaux, 2-0 losers last night, to take a special look at top-rated Zindane and came away very impressed by Dugarry.

There haven't yet been any developments, one reason being that Bordeaux had no intentions of selling any of their stars while they are chasing UEFA Cup glory.

But I understand that there may already have been contact between Bordeaux and top Italian clubs about both players. PETER WHITE reports

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