Chelsea captain John Terry has warned his teammates to expect a brutal battle when the Premier League leaders travel to Blackburn Rovers today.
Blackburn were one of the teams criticized by Fulham’s Danny Murphy recently for deliberately going out to intimidate opponents with their tough-tackling style, but Terry has no complaints about Blackburn’s aggressive approach and the England defender is relishing the prospect of a physical encounter at Ewood Park.
Carlo Ancelotti’s reigning champions are five points clear at the top of the table, but they have failed to score in their last two away league matches and Terry knows they will have to fight to end that run this weekend.
Photo: Reuters
“I think it [the criticism] is very unfair, especially against the likes of Wolves and Blackburn,” Terry said. “We know going to Blackburn is going to be a tough game. That’s part of football. I think they get a lot of unfair criticism. We can’t just go there and expect to pick up the three points because we’re Chelsea Football Club. We need to go there and be prepared to have a scrap.”
Meanwhile, Arsene Wenger insists Arsenal have a strong enough squad to challenge for every major trophy this season.
The Gunners, who host London rivals West Ham United today, moved into second place in the table after last weekend’s 3-0 rout of Manchester City — a result Wenger believes was proof of his team’s hunger for success.
Even the League Cup — normally treated with disdain by Wenger — is a serious target this season as Arsenal look to end a five-year trophy drought and the French coach said: “I said to the players, we will go for everything we can, as simple as that. We don’t want to choose competitions.”
“I believe we have a squad good enough to win trophies, that’s why I think: ‘OK, let’s go as far as we can,’” Wenger said.
Manchester United will once again look to young Mexico international striker Javier Hernandez to fill in for Wayne Rooney in today’s clash with Tottenham Hotspur.
With Rooney recovering from injury in Dubai, Hernandez has taken the chance to display his predatory instincts as United try to keep pace with Chelsea.
He scored twice in last weekend’s win at Stoke City and then came off the bench to net the last-minute winner that sunk Wolverhampton Wanderers in the League Cup.
Michael Owen has been impressed by his United teammate and the former England striker said: “It’s obviously early days for him, but he’s made a really good impression at the club. He’s young, sharp and a good finisher.”
Spurs travel to Old Trafford looking for their first win there since December 1989 and Croatia international midfielder Luka Mod-ric is confident Harry Redknapp’s side can end that barren run.
“Why not go there and try to win? I know Tottenham haven’t won at Old Trafford for a long time, so why not now?” Modric said. “It’s the best stage to play, the best stadium and it will be a great game for us.”
United’s bitter local rivals Manchester City need an immediate response to their defeat against Arsenal when they face Wolves at Molineux.
Roberto Mancini’s side missed a chance to close the gap on Chelsea against Arsenal, but the City boss is confident there will be no hangover from that result.
“There is no feeling that we are dispirited by what happened on Sunday, it is just the opposite,” Mancini said. “This game can be important because now we understand that we are a very strong team, that we play together and we have the right spirit in the team.”
Tomorrow, Liverpool aim to climb out of the relegation zone when they visit Bolton Wanderers, while two fiercely contested local derbies will see Aston Villa host Birmingham City and Sunderland make the short trip to Newcastle United.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB