Enemy within for Chelsea
Swansea City face a big test
LONDON – Having helped Chelsea to win the Premier League as assistant to Carlo Ancelotti, Paul Clement will be looking to put a dent in their title hopes when he takes his resurgent Swansea City side to Stamford Bridge tomorrow.
Clement, who had two spells at Chelsea, was Ancelotti’s right-hand man when they won the double in 2010, and will return for the first time this weekend having departed the following year.
A trip to face the runaway league leaders would be an unenviable task for most teams fighting relegation, but Clement’s Swansea will head to West London fuelled with confidence.
Clement has overseen a superb turnaround, lifting them four points clear of the relegation zone.
Swansea have also shown that they are not intimidated by away games against the Premier League’s big guns, having stunned Liverpool 3-2 at Anfield and come within moments of escaping the Etihad Stadium with a point before Gabriel Jesus’s stoppage-time winner for Manchester City.
Despite those positive performances, Clement is wary of Chelsea and understands the enormity of the job at hand.
“It is a big task for us,” he said. “We went to Liverpool with a very positive attitude and also Manchester City, where we were very close to getting something as well. We will approach this with the same mentality and try and execute the plan on Saturday.”
With Manchester City, Arsenal and Manchester United not in Premier League action this week, due to fixture clashes created by Sunday’s League Cup final, Chelsea have a great chance to stretch their lead and put further pressure on the chasing pack. Fifth-placed Liverpool, who visit Leicester City on Monday, and third-placed Tottenham Hotspur, who host Stoke City on Sunday, will both hope to strike blows in an increasingly congested battle for a topfour finish and Champions League qualification.