Mourinho out for revenge as Man United visits Chelsea
LONDON (Reuters) – Jose Mourinho takes his Manchester United side back to former club Chelsea on Monday with a place in the FA Cup semifinals at Wembley up for grabs and a score to settle with his old employer.
Mourinho endured a chastening return in October when Chelsea crushed United 4-0, a humiliating blow for the Portuguese at the hands of the club who sacked him for the second time last season.
With Chelsea blazing a trail at the Premier League’s summit and United way off the pace in sixth with a battle to ensure Champions League qualification ahead, the incentive is there for Mourinho to inflict revenge on Antonio Conte’s side.
Whether United will have the tools to land a glove on Chelsea, however, remains to be seen.
A testament to the fantastic job that Conte has done at Stamford Bridge is the 10-point lead at the top, a remarkable turnaround considering the Blues sacked Mourinho 14 months ago with the club hovering above the relegation zone.
When Chelsea beat United in October, it was just getting into gear, having embarked on a 13-match winning run that would see it put clear water between itself and its rivals.
Since that streak was ended by Tottenham Hotspur in January, Chelsea has remained unbeaten with a watertight defense that has conceded just 20 times all season, tied for fewest in the top flight.
United’s hopes of breaching that backline suffered a blow when striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who has scored 26 goals in his first season at the club, was banned for three games for elbowing Bournemouth’s Tyrone Mings in their Premier League clash last weekend.
United is also facing a fixture pile-up while Monday’s opponent has no such issues.
With home and away Europa League ties to play against Russian side Rostov on either side of the cup clash, United plays three times in eight days. Chelsea, meanwhile, has not kicked a ball since beating West Ham United on Monday and will not play again until next Saturday.
The FA Cup has enjoyed something of a return to form this season, featuring heroic giant-killing acts and a string of minnows defying the odds.
Non-league Lincoln City, the first minor league team to reach the quarterfinals in 103 years, will play on Saturday against 12-time winners Arsenal, which ended the hopes another National League Sutton United in the last round.
With Arsenal licking the wounds from its 10-2 aggregate defeat to Bayern Munich in the Champions League, an almost unthinkable Cup exit at home to Lincoln would crank up the pressure further on manager Arsene Wenger.
Middlesbrough hosts Manchester City in an all Premier League clash on Saturday and Tottenham Hotspur host third-tier Millwall on Sunday.
Swansea’s Clement out to build on record start against Hull
Meanwhile, Paul Clement has made the best Premier League start of any Swansea City manager and takes his revitalized side to Hull City on Saturday looking to build on a remarkable run that has lifted the club five points clear of the relegation zone.
Even the most optimistic Swansea fan would have struggled to imagine the impact Clement would have when he joined in January as the third manager of the season and with the club rock-bottom of the table.
Yet after five wins in his first eight league games, Swansea has pulled clear of danger and now has a cushion between itself and those looking to claw their way out of the mire below.
Hull, however, could prove a difficult opponent for Swansea having already beaten it twice this season, including a 2-0 FA Cup victory in Clement’s second game in charge.
With the FA Cup quarter-finals taking center stage this weekend, there are only four Premier League fixtures with Liverpool’s home clash against Burnley on Sunday, the pick of the bunch.
Fourth-place Liverpool, which beat Arsenal last weekend, has found it hard going at times against teams in the bottom half of the table and in 12th-place Burnley it faces a side that has already beaten it this season.
Saturday on TV: FA Cup quartefinals: Middlesbrough vs Manchester City (live on Sport 1 at 2 p.m.). Premier League: AFC Bournemouth vs West Ham United (live on Sport 1 at 4:50 p.m.)