Blues stand in Mourinho’s way
CONTENDERS: LAMPARD LOOKS TO OUTWIT FORMER BOSS IN KEY DERBY
Jose Mourinho takes his table-topping Tottenham side to former club Chelsea this weekend determined to prove he is back where he belongs at the top of the Premier League.
Four straight wins have taken Spurs to 20 points after nine games, ahead of Liverpool on goal difference, but Frank Lampard’s Chelsea are just two points behind them.
Champions Liverpool travel to Brighton, while goal-shy Manchester City host Burnley in the unaccustomed position of 13th in the table, while Arsenal seek a win to lift them out of their slump.
Spurs boss Mourinho has a point to prove against Lampard, with whom he won two Premier League titles at Stamford Bridge.
Mourinho and the former Chelsea midfielder-turned-manager have met four times in different dugouts.
Lampard gave Mourinho a bloody nose when his Derby side dumped Manchester United, then managed by the Mourinho, out of the League Cup on penalties in 2018.
After returning to Chelsea as manager, Lampard twice outwitted his former boss, by now in charge at Tottenham, in the Premier League last season.
The 57-year-old veteran will be hoping this season’s League Cup win against Chelsea on penalties has turned the tide. He has never lost three consecutive league matches against the same manager or club before.
Mourinho was keen to play down title talk after last week’s impressive 2-0 win at home to Manchester City, which took them top.
“People cannot expect us to come here and after one season we are fighting for the title,” he told the BBC.
“We are not fighting for the title, we are just fighting to win every match. But we are going to lose matches, we are going to draw matches.”
But, like it or not, Spurs are in the title mix and will have to get used to the pressure, which will be ramped up tomorrow.
Arsenal’s indifferent start to the season has left them languishing 12th on the Premier League table, with just four points from their past five matches.
Mikel Arteta, whose side host Wolves tomorrow, remains optimistic despite his side’s poor run and struggles in front of goal – Arsenal have now not scored from open play in five Premier League games.
Manchester City, who host Burnley today, have not scored more than once in a Premier League match since September. –