Chelsea face Wolves test
Blues look to avoid Cup savaging
Chelsea will look to avoid an FA Cup upset at Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday with the mood still upbeat despite being held to a disappointing 1-1 draw at Burnley last week.
The Londoners hold an eight-point lead over Manchester City in the Premier League but the Cup could give them a chance to rest some of their more established players even against a side that knocked out Liverpool last time.
Certainly manager Antonio Conte was able to make nine changes from his regular side for the fourth round tie at home to Brentford yet still emerge comfortable 4-0 winners.
Forward Pedro was one of those who played against Brentford and could feature against Wolves too after claiming he is now “very happy” at Stamford Bridge. The winger came close to a return to Barcelona in the summer but no longer has any plans to leave following a successful campaign where he has scored nine times in 27 appearances. “This is the best moment for me at this club and also the best moment for the whole team since I’ve been here,” he said. “It’s a good situation when you are top of the League and progressing in the FA Cup. We are on the right path. “Last year was a difficult one for me … But this year is different. With this coach, all the team is focused on the fight for the title, with more confidence for every game and this is good. It’s a completely different season.” Pedro, who won five league titles and three Champions League trophies while at Barcelona, admits he found the going tough in his first season in England last term, but has now got used to the pace of the game.
Defender Gary Cahill believes the Premier League title is now within Chelsea’s reach but warned his teammates against complacency.
“There’s 13 games left so we’ll chalk them off, hopefully with the right result,” Cahill said.
“We can see the light at the end of the tunnel in a way, but Burnley has been a reminder that it’s not going to be easy to cross the line.”
With Burnley having one of the best home records in the league, Cahill refused to be downbeat over coming away with a single point from Turf Moor on Sunday.
Wolves enter the game on the back of their eighth home defeat of the Championship season after Wigan Athletic won 1-0 with a late goal on Tuesday.
Manager Paul Lambert claims a meeting with the Premier League leaders is the perfect game for his side and he is drawing on some advice from Ottmar Hitzfeld – his boss at Borussia Dortmund.
“They won’t need picking up or motivating,” said Lambert. “I’m looking forward to it myself, the game and the atmosphere it’s going to generate.
“One of the greatest bits of advice I ever had was from Ottmar Hitzfeld. He actually sent me a nice text when we beat Liverpool so we keep in touch.
“Ottmar was manager of Switzerland at the time, I went to watch them train and I asked him how he handled a defeat – he said to analyze it for 24 hours and let it go.
“Because if you don’t, it eats away at you. And you’ve got the job of picking everyone else up as well as yourself.”