Blues out to stop the rot at the Lane
AS this season’s English Premier League (EPL) title race begins to open up, the obvious absentees from the leading pack are Chelsea, who have made their worst start to a season since the 1970s when they yoyoed between the top two divisions and are currently languishing in 15th place with 14 points.
No one expects their poor run to last for much longer and according to manager Jose Mourinho, they are regaining their confidence after a 1-0 win over Norwich City last week and a 4-0 thrashing of Maccabi Tel Aviv in the Champions League on Wednesday.
But those games will be like genteel tea parties compared to the hostile welcome awaiting them for today’s derby against in-form Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane, especially as the Blues could be without their captain John Terry, who injured an ankle in Israel and is a major doubt.
Spurs beat Chelsea 5-3 at the Lane on New Year’s Day in one of the outstanding matches of last season, and Mauricio Pochettino’s men, like Leicester City, have been widely praised for the way they have started the season, unbeaten in 12 matches since an opening day loss at Manchester United.
Spurs manager Pochettino was keen to play down talk of a possible top-four finish after they demolished West Ham United 4-1 last weekend.
Harry Kane scored twice in that game and again in the Europa League, and will be one to watch today.
Yet if they beat Chelsea, no easy task less than three days after an 8 000km round trip to FK Qarabag of Azerbaijan in the Europa League on Thursday, they could be on their way to their highest league placing since finishing fourth in 2012.
Spurs currently look the division’s most robust team, but Pochettino said it was too soon to anoint them title contenders.
“It’s early to start to speak about that,” said the Argentine.
“It’s too far, the end of the season, and we are a very young squad. We need to develop our way [of playing], to be consistent.
“It’s true that we show from the beginning of the season that we are consistent, but to aspire to try to win the title, maybe we need more.
“Step by step. You don’t know. It’s difficult to guess today what will happen in four, five months.” Asked specifically what he meant by “more”, the manager replied: “Always there’s something to improve.
“We need to keep working hard and stay with our feet on the ground.”
Pochettino, 43, professed himself “very proud” after watching his youthful and hard-working side dispatch a team — West Ham United — who have already enjoyed wins over Arsenal, Manchester City, Chelsea and Liverpool this season.
Coutinho returns
While Spurs seek to stay in touch with the leaders, so will Jürgen Klopp’s Liverpool, who were superb in their 4-1 demolition of Manchester City last week.
They face an ailing Swansea City who have slid down the table after one win in nine, putting pressure on manager Garry Monk.
Liverpool have confirmed that Philippe Coutinho could be fit for today’s game after he picked up a hamstring injury in last Saturday’s 4-1 demolition of Manchester City.
A scan early this week showed the damage to Coutinho’s hamstring was minor, and the Reds have told Sky Sports News HQ he could recover in time for today’s meeting.
The news is a big boost for manager Klopp — Coutinho has been in sparkling form for the Reds in recent weeks.
Liverpool currently have a number of injury concerns, with striker Danny Ings and defender Joe Gomez out for the rest of the season.
Jose Enrique, Jordan Henderson and Jordan Rossiter are expected to be back in training in the coming weeks, but Jon Flanagan and Mamadou Sakho remain out for a further month.
In addition, Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge has suffered another injury setback after a foot problem picked up in training ruled him out of a return against Girondins Bordeaux in the Europa League.
The 26-year-old England international had just recovered from a knee injury which left him on the sidelines since October 4 and hoped to feature in the game with the French side at Anfield.
Sturridge has made only three appearances this season and 18 in 2015.
He scored twice in a 3-2 Premier League home win over Aston Villa on September 26, but has yet to feature under new manager Klopp.
Gunning for victory
Arsenal travel to Norwich City today with no fresh injury concerns and boosted by the return of midfielder Alex OxladeChamberlain, manager Arsene Wenger said.
The Gunners go into the game hoping to get their first Premier League win of November following a 1-1 draw with Spurs on November 8 and last Saturday’s 2-1 defeat away to West Bromwich Albion, that saw them drop to fourth in the league table.
They bounced back by beating Dinamo Kiev 3-0 in the Champions League on Tuesday, and will look to continue their impressive away form in the league, where they have lost just two of their seven games on the road this season.
“We should have everybody available, the players who played on Tuesday night, plus maybe Chamberlain should be back in the squad,” Wenger told reporters at his pre-match news conference.
The Frenchman blamed the loss to West Bromwich Albion on bad luck, but backed his team to bounce back against 16thplaced Norwich. — ©
Hostile reception awaits Chelsea for today’s derby against Pochettino’s in-form charges