Jose Mourinho has warned Arsene Wenger that Chelsea are back in the groove as the English Premier League champions look to extend their revival in today’s showdown with London rivals Arsenal.
Mourinho’s side are languishing just above the relegation zone following a miserable run of one win from their first five matches, but the Blues boss is confident his players are beginning to rediscover their swagger after a 4-0 demolition of Maccabi Tel Aviv in midweek.
That vibrant opening to their UEFA Champions League campaign was a stark contrast to the doom and gloom that surrounded the club after their worst start to a season since 1988-1989.
Photo: Reuters
Already trailing leaders Manchester City by 11 points and fourth-placed Arsenal by six, a third successive league defeat could leave Chelsea’s title defense in tatters, yet Mourinho expects the challenge of taking on title rivals will draw a powerful performance from his team against an Arsenal side reeling from their surprise Champions League defeat at Dinamo Zagreb.
“We come with a different feeling. We can wake up with a different state of mind,” Mourinho told Chelsea TV. “Saturday is a big match, it’s a great rival. This result can put us in a better situation. We had too many bad results. We couldn’t have this one on top of it.”
Mourinho has been quick to dismiss claims of a rift with captain John Terry, one of several players dropped for the Maccabi clash, but the manager looks an agitated figure at present and locking horns with old rival Wenger is likely to keep him in a waspish mood, especially since he is still smarting from losing to the Arsenal manager for the first time in 14 meetings in the Community Shield last month.
Facing Chelsea on the back of a European setback is hardly ideal preparation for Arsenal, who have not scored in their past four league meetings with the Blues.
However, Gunners forward Theo Walcott is adamant his team will shrug off that setback in time to add to Mourinho’s problems at Stamford Bridge.
The Gunners have been solid if unspectacular in the league so far and Walcott, who came off the bench to score against Dinamo Zagreb, said: “Everyone will be very disappointed, but we need to move on now.”
“We have had setbacks before and have managed to bounce back from them. We have got a big, important game at the weekend,” he said. “The manager will make sure that it’s put to bed in the changing room and that it will stay there. We need to reflect on this game and move on quickly.”
Manchester City’s flying start to the season ground to a halt with a 2-1 home defeat against Juventus that continued their lackluster Champions League record and Manuel Pellegrini’s team would be wise not to underestimate West Ham United, who visit the Etihad Stadium today looking to claim a third famous away win of the season after triumphs at Arsenal and Liverpool.
“On one hand, it would be a surprise of course if we won, because before Juventus, Man City scored 11 goals and didn’t concede, they are cruising, but to be fair it would not be a shock considering we have done it two out of two [in Premier League away games] already,” West Ham United manager Slaven Bilic said.
Manchester United, five points behind City in third place, will bid for an uplifting end to a traumatic week when they travel to Southampton tomorrow.
Louis van Gaal’s team slumped to a 2-1 Champions League defeat at PSV Eindhoven on Tuesday and to make matters worse England leftback Luke Shaw broke his right leg in two places following a challenge by Hector Moreno.
Newcastle United, Sunderland and Stoke City — the three top-tier sides still waiting for a first league win this term — will be aiming to end their barren runs against Watford, AFC Bournemouth and Leicester City respectively.
Leicester manager Claudio Ranieri, whose team are surprisingly unbeaten in second place, has offered his players an appetizing incentive to keep Stoke at bay.
“I told them, if you keep a clean sheet, I’ll buy pizza for everybody. I think they’re waiting for me to offer a hot dog too,” Ranieri said.
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