Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Terry in line to face Wolves in FA Cup tie
CHELSEA skipper John Terry might be handed a rare outing at Wolverhampton Wanderers in the FA Cup fifth round today, with manager Antonio Conte planning to rest first-choice centre back David Luiz.
The 36-year-old Terry, a fixture in Chelsea’s backline for more than a decade, has been pushed to the margins this season, making nine appearances in total, of which four have come in cup competitions.
Brazilian Luiz, who Conte signed from Paris St Germain in August for a second spell at Chelsea, has effectively replaced Terry in the first team, playing in the middle of the manager’s preferred threeat-the-back formation.
“John Terry is fit for this game,” Conte said yesterday
“All the players are available but there are situations that are better to keep under control. For Marcos Alonso, to give him a bit of rest, also for David Luiz, we have the opportunity to give him a week to recover and prepare for the next game.”
Luiz has been carrying a knee injury since Chelsea beat Manchester City at the start of December, and had his leg strapped in last Sunday’s Premier League draw at Burnley, but Conte said there was no cause for concern. “Luiz is okay. His knee has improved a lot,” the Italian added.
Youngsters Nathan Ake and Ruben Loftus-Cheek may also get to face second-tier Wolverhampton, who beat Liverpool in the last round. “We must pay great attention because this team showed in recent past they have the possibility to beat a great team like Liverpool, and Stoke City,” Conte said.
Chelsea are runaway leaders in the Premier League, but Conte said winning both the league and FA Cup this season would be a big ask. “It won’t be easy – in the league there are six teams very strong to fight to the end to win the title.”
● Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has said he does not know if new signing Gabriel Jesus will play again this season after undergoing surgery on a broken bone in his foot.
Jesus was substituted 15 minutes into City’s 2-0 Premier League win over Bournemouth on Monday and had surgery to mend his broken metatarsal in Barcelona. “The operation went really well,” Guardiola said yesterday, ahead of his team’s trip to second-tier Huddersfield Town in the fifth round of the FA Cup today. “The most important thing now is a good recovery. I don’t know if it will be the end of this season or next season.
“Now we send all our support to him and his family and we are waiting until he is back.”
Brazil international Jesus made a bright start to his City career since joining from Palmeiras, scoring three goals and keeping the more established Sergio Aguero out of the side.
His injury means Argentina international Aguero will return to spearhead City’s attack after being dropped to the bench for their past few games. “It’s not easy for the players who do not play,” Guardiola said. “Their behaviour has been more than professional, it was perfect, and Sergio too. He showed in the last minutes against Swan- sea, for example, or in the last game at Bournemouth after the injury from Gabriel where he came in and played good and scored a goal. I don’t have doubts about the quality because it was always there.”
● Arsene Wenger said yesterday that he will definitely still be a manager next season, whether at Arsenal or “somewhere else”. He said he would make a decision in March or April on whether to extend his 20-year spell at Arsenal. He left open the possibility that he would walk away from the north London club and into another job. The second longest-serving manager in the history of the Premier League, Wenger is out of contract at the end of the season. He has not won the league title since 2004, and calls for him to end his association with Arsenal have grown louder since the team’s 5-1 Champions League thrashing at Bayern Munich on Wednesday. ● See TV schedules for more fixtures, Page 25