The Malaysian Insider :: Sports
The Malaysian Insider :: Sports |
| Cole and Cahill back to ease Chelsea workload Posted: 19 Apr 2013 08:04 AM PDT LONDON, April 19 — Defenders Ashley Cole and Gary Cahill have returned to training after injury, Chelsea interim manager Rafa Benitez said today as he prepared for an "emotional" return to former club Liverpool. The pair will be assessed on Saturday and could play some part at Anfield on Sunday as Chelsea continue their hectic schedule with their seventh game in 19 days. Cole (hamstring) has not played since the FA Cup replay victory over Manchester United on the first day of the month while centre back Cahill (knee) has not featured since the middle of March.  "It is good news," Benitez (picture), who has been rotating his squad during the fixture pile-up, told reporters. "We have had Gary Cahill and Ashley Cole training today so that was really positive. "There are no problems apart from Oriol Romeu, the rest of the squad is fit. Maybe it is too early, but we will see tomorrow after another training session." Chelsea bounced back from Sunday's FA Cup semi-final defeat by Manchester City at Wembley with a 3-0 London derby victory at Fulham on Wednesday, regaining third place in the Premier League as they look to secure a top-four finish and Champions League football next season. The fixtures continue to come thick and fast with Chelsea facing a two-legged Europa League semi-final against Switzerland's FC Basel with the away leg on Thursday. They also have a tough start to the final month of the season when they go to Old Trafford to play Manchester United on May 5, then host London rivals Tottenham Hotspur, also battling for the Champions League spots, four days later. "The game against Fulham was very important. We needed to be sure we were back in the top three and now every game will be important," Benitez added. "It's Liverpool now. If we can get three points, we are in the top three, and hopefully it will be the same until the end. I don't see the fixtures of the other teams, just our next game. "We have enough quality and experience in the squad. We have good momentum so we'll try to keep this." Benitez is looking forward to coming against the side he managed between 2004 and 2010. He twice reached the final of the Champions League and won Europe's elite club competition in unforgettable style in 2005 when his Liverpool team came back from 3-0 down to draw 3-3 with AC Milan and triumph on penalties. "I am a professional so I will try to do my best to achieve the targets here," he said of his Chelsea focus. "I have a lot of friends and good memories so it will be emotional, but I will try to concentrate on the game and do my best for 90 minutes." — Reuters |
| City count on United getting the jitters Posted: 19 Apr 2013 08:01 AM PDT MANCHESTER, April 19 — The shock of losing last year's title at the last second could derail Manchester United's charge to this season's crown, according to Manchester City assistant Brian Kidd. With United 13 points clear at the top and able to secure the title as early as Monday, it might sound like the defending champions are clutching at straws but after the manner in which they won it last year they have good reason not to give in. City clinched their first league title since 1968 when they scored twice in stoppage time to beat Queens Park Rangers 3-2 and win the championship on goal difference from United, who had finished their final game thinking they had done enough. "There will be some jittery moments," said Kidd, a former assistant to Ferguson at United who was standing in for City manager Roberto Mancini at the club's regular Friday news conference. "With what happened last year - it was a bad experience for them, I believe they will have been shocked by it. "It's not over until it's mathematically finished with." Kidd's message differs from the one Mancini has been giving as the Italian has said several times the title race is over and it certainly will be if City lose at Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday and United beat Aston Villa on Monday. Kidd went as far as to say that City could still do a domestic double of league and FA Cup, although even the most optimistic fan would think they have much more chance of the latter when they face Wigan Athletic in next month's final. "It could turn out a great season for Manchester City," said Kidd, who had spells at both United and City as a player. "We would win the league and we could win the Cup, what a great season. "We've got a group of players that you can trust and I think both teams, Manchester City and United, can go to the end of the season without losing but both teams can drop points as well. "You've got to be in the slipstream if the team above you drop points." City, who made up eight points in six games on their way to the title last year, travel to fifth-placed Tottenham with doubts over David Silva and Sergio Aguero, who have hamstring injuries. "To drop eight points in six games, nobody thought that could have happened this time last year but it did," Kidd said. "There's stranger things in football." United have 81 points from 33 games, with City on 68 from 32. — Reuters |
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