adminLONDON. — Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur will put their English Premier League soccer title credentials to the test when they renew their rivalry at White Hart Lane today.Both teams made a raft of new signings during the close season and have made steady starts to the new campaign ahead of the 149th encounter between the two London clubs.
An injury-time goal from Paulinho gave Spurs a 1-0 win at Cardiff City last weekend that took them level on points with Arsenal at the top of the table, while Chelsea are two points back following a 2-0 victory over Fulham. The game will not want for sub-plots, with Portuguese managers Andre Villas-Boas and Jose Mourinho due to face off for the first time since they ended their collaboration at Inter Milan in 2009.
Villas-Boas failed to emulate his former mentor during an unsuccessful eight-month stint at Chelsea between 2011 and 2012, but in Spurs he has found a club with its eyes on the same prizes.
Spurs have conceded only one goal to date, in a 1-0 loss to Arsenal on September 1, and Villas-Boas says such parsimoniousness will stand them in good stead for the visit of his former team.
“What we’re seeing this season in the Premier League is that it’s tight at the top. I would expect a tight encounter,” said the Spurs coach, whose side crushed Aston Villa 4-0 in the League Cup in mid-week.
“We’ve looked solid at the back; not just clean sheets, but the amount of opportunities allowed. We’ll have to show that ability again.”
Chelsea centreback David Luiz, who has made just one league start under Mourinho, says it would be wrong to attach too much importance to the touchline duel between the managers.
“It’s Chelsea and Tottenham, not just Mourinho and Villas-Boas,” the Brazilian told the Chelsea website.
“It’ll be a fantastic derby. Everyone will watch this game, everybody wants to play this game. Tottenham have a great team.”
Arsenal saw a run of 10 consecutive away wins come to an end in 1-1 draw at West Bromwich Albion in the League Cup on Wednesday night, but they prevailed on penalties to maintain their recent momentum.
Arsene Wenger’s side are unbeaten in eight games in all competitions, but today they visit a Swansea City side smarting after their League Cup defence was ended by second-tier Birmingham City.
Manchester United reacted to their 4-1 derby humiliation at Manchester City last weekend by eliminating Liverpool in the League Cup and the champions will hope to get back to winning ways in the league by defeating West Brom.
The crushing loss to City left the champions five points below Arsenal in eighth place, but centre-back Jonny Evans says he has known darker days at Old Trafford.
“I have been on the training ground where the atmosphere has been worse than it was when we came in the day after the (City) game,” said the Northern Irishman.
“We had no complaints at the weekend. Everyone was honest in their assessment that we didn’t apply ourselves the way we should have.
“It is hard for the fans, the players and the manager as well. We just had to move on from it quickly.”
City continued their goal-scoring form by avenging last season’s FA Cup final loss to Wigan Athletic with a 5-0 League Cup win over the Championship side in mid-week, ahead of a trip to Aston Villa today.
Montenegro striker Stevan Jovetic opened his account for City with a brace and will hope to keep his place in the starting line-up at Villa Park.
The post-Paolo Di Canio era continues for Sunderland with a home game against Liverpool tomorrow, when caretaker coach Kevin Ball will once again be in charge of first-team affairs.
Liverpool can call upon last season’s top scorer Luis Suarez for the first time in the league this season, after he returned to action in the mid-week loss to United following a 10-game ban for biting Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanovic.
Meanwhile, Everton will put the last unbeaten record in the division on the line when they play host to Newcastle United at Goodison Park on Monday.
And Chelsea manager Mourinho insisted yesterday he was not concerned by comments made by Tottenham Hotspur manager Villas-Boas about the decline of their relationship.
“I don’t discuss this with the media. It’s a personal thing. I don’t care what he says. I’m not here to do that. I’m not interested,” Mourinho told a news conference yesterday.
Villas-Boas, who for seven years was a scout for Mourinho at Porto, Inter and Chelsea — when his fellow Portuguese was in his first spell in charge at Stamford Bridge — said on Thursday their relationship had declined after he left to go his own way having failed to convince his mentor he deserved a more senior role.
Today sees Villas-Boas’s Tottenham, level on points with Premier League leaders Arsenal, up against Mourinho’s Chelsea at White Hart Lane in all-London clash given added spice as it is the first time the two compatriots have opposed each other as mangers.
Mourinho contrasted his relationship with Villas-Boas to that with Louis Van Gaal, whom he worked under at Barcelona before steering an Inter Milan side to beat a Bayern Munich team managed by the Dutchman in the 2010 Champions League final.
“I managed a Champions League final against a manager who was important in my career and taught me to grow up and I did it in a professional way. And that is a way you have to do it,” Mourinho said.
“I have had so many assistants in my career. I was always an open book to them and with the coaches in the academy. Will I go for a glass of wine with him? When people invite me I always go. I never refuse.
“But I have nothing more to say on this,” added Mourinho, whose Chelsea side are currently two points adrift of Tottenham.
Villas-Boas, speaking on Thursday, said: “Our break-up point was because I was full of ambition to give him something extra and I wanted further involvement from the job I was doing at that time.
“I felt I could give him much more. But he didn’t feel the need for somebody near to him or in another position as an assistant, and because of that it was decided that it was time, after Inter Milan, to continue our careers (apart).”
He added: “We had a great personal and professional relationship before that we don’t have now. I don’t think we need explanations. But our relationship broke down.”
Fixtures:
Today (4pm unless otherwise stated): Aston Villa v Manchester City, Fulham v Cardiff City, Hull City v West Ham United, Manchester United v West Bromwich Albion, Southampton v Crystal Palace, Swansea City v Arsenal (6:30pm), Tottenham Hotspur v Chelsea (1:45pm)
Tomorrow: Stoke City v Norwich City (2:30pm), Sunderland v Liverpool (5pm)
Monday (9pm): Everton v Newcastle United. — AFP.
Online Reporter