Chelsea like a runaway train
WITH the English Premier League in the thrilling final third of the season, we take a closer look at some of the story lines to watch out for in this weekend’s action.
With a remarkable 17 wins from their last 20 league matches, rarely has the phrase “runaway leaders” been more apt than when describing Chelsea’s seemingly unstoppable march to the championship.
Antonio Conte’s side, who make the short trip to London rivals West Ham United tomorrow evening, sit 10 points clear of second-placed Tottenham Hotspur with just 12 matches remaining, raising the possibility that the title race will reach its conclusion well before the final round of matches.
For the chasing pack, and fans of a thrilling finale, there have been dispiritingly few signs that Chelsea might stumble in the final straight, although West Ham’s 2-1 win over Conte’s men in the League Cup earlier this season provides a glimmer of hope of another upset when the Blues return to the London Stadium.
West Ham manager Slaven Bilic has said his ninth-placed team will need luck to make runaway leaders Chelsea drop points, but he believes the title race is still wide open.
Bilic, who oversaw a 2-1 League Cup win over the leaders in October, said his team would have to be on top of their game to get a result.
He said: “With concentration, dedication and determination — along with a little bit of luck — we can get a result.”
With 12 league matches left to play, overhauling Chelsea will not be easy, but Bilic said there was still a chance that Conte’s men could slip up: “It’s still very open,” he said. SLAVEN BILIC: Wants to burst the Blues’ bubble tomorrow TOTTENHAM Hotspur are nearly invincible when they hit the top gear in the Premier League, midfielder Dele Alli has said.
League leaders Chelsea, Manchester United and Liverpool are the only sides to have beaten the north London side Tottenham this season.
Spurs, the only team in the league with an unbeaten home record, lie second in the table. They host Everton today. “When we are on form and playing well, I don’t think there’s anyone in the Premier League that can beat us,” Alli told Four Four Two magazine.
“There are no boundaries; there’s nothing we can’t do if we play as well as we know we can. It’s important that we’re ambitious. We know where we should be, and we know what we can do as a team.”
Despite an impressive run of results in domestic football, Spurs have endured an underwhelming European campaign after early exits in both the Champions League and Europa League.
With just five points separating them from sixth-placed United, Alli is eager for his side to secure their place in next season’s Champions League in order to prove their mettle on the European stage.
“Obviously everyone wants to be [in the Champions League]. There’s tough competition in the league, but we fancy ourselves against anyone, so it’ll be disappointing if we don’t get back in there,” Alli added. MANCHESTER City manager Pep Guardiola has admitted he no longer has a first-choice goalkeeper after declaring he will choose between Willy Caballero and Claudio Bravo on a game-by-game basis.
Bravo was brought in from Barcelona in August to be the senior goalkeeper, but has lost his Premier League place to Caballero in recent weeks after a series of inconsistent displays.
Guardiola, however, has rotated his keepers for domestic cup ties this season, so that would then mean Argentine Caballero returning for today’s trip to Sunderland.
But Spaniard Guardiola, who let England goalkeeper Joe Hart leave City for a loan move to Italian side Torino last year, insisted he was reviewing the goalkeeping situation constantly.
“They [Caballero and Bravo] are so professional, they are exceptional, so there’s no problem about that,” Guardiola explained. “You may not believe me, but I am not thinking about who is the first and who is the second. —