admin
LONDON. — The battle for Champions League soccer qualification in the English Premier League takes on new intensity this weekend with two high-stakes derby clashes involving teams pursuing a top-four finish.
Arsenal, who trail fourth-place Southampton on goal difference alone, tackle north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur in a contest between two sides who have found form in recent weeks.
Liverpool, meanwhile, visit Everton, having climbed to within four points of the Champions League places with a haul of 16 points from a possible 18 – a run matched only by Lyon in Europe’s five major leagues.
The weekend’s action begins at White Hart Lane today, where Tottenham will go in search of only a second win over Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal in eight encounters.
Both teams are in good shape, with Tottenham having lost only once in their last nine league games and Arsenal only once in their last eight.
Mauricio Pochettino’s Spurs, two points behind their local rivals in sixth place, have been given reason for optimism by the news that Arsenal top scorer Alexis Sanchez is likely to miss the game with a hamstring injury.
Arsene Wenger has confirmed he is “not yet ready yet” and might not face Spurs today lunchtime.
That shouldn’t really surprise the Arsenal boss though, with Wenger having played the forward for 815 out of a possible 900 minutes since declaring Sanchez was “in the red zone” on December 5.
That’s 94% of the maximum possible game-time when he steps onto the pitch.
But Sanchez is demanding to play in the North London derby.
Wenger has admitted that Sanchez has an outside chance of being involved at White Hart Lane – just 24 hours after ruling him out with his hamstring injury.
But Sanchez, who missed last Sunday’s win over Aston Villa with the same problem, was expected .to take part in some training yesterday morning and Wenger admits he wants to play today.
Gunners boss Wenger admitted: “He wants to play, of course, he’s very keen, he feels he can defy the medical people because he is so keen to play that he thinks he can get over strains.
“I don’t know yet, I need medical advice on that, and I need as well to see what he can do in training.
“Alexis wants to have a go today, but I think he is too short. We will see.”
But Arsenal scarcely missed the Chilean last weekend, crushing Aston Villa 5-0 at the Emirates Stadium to record a third consecutive league win for the first time this season.
Danny Welbeck is back in the squad while Jack Wilshere returns to full training next week after his ankle injury.
“This is a massive game and it is all about the bragging rights,” Arsenal winger Theo Walcott, a scorer against Villa, told the London Evening Standard newspaper.
“It is one of the biggest games for both sets of fans and this year it is going to be tight.”
Liverpool’s trip to Goodison Park later today will be Steven Gerrard’s last Merseyside derby before he leaves Anfield for the Los Angeles Galaxy at the end of the campaign.
The Liverpool captain (34) made his 700th appearance for the club in Wednesday’s 2-1 FA Cup win at Bolton Wanderers and manager Brendan Rodgers has backed him to sign off in style against old foes Everton.
“He’ll want to win, like he does every time,” Rodgers told a press conference on Thursday.
“How will he deal with the emotion of it being his last? Like he has all the others — by being focused on the team getting a result.”
Everton, 12 points below seventh-place Liverpool in 12th place, will draw little encouragement from the news that Daniel Sturridge is in line to face them.
The England striker made a scoring return from injury in Liverpool’s 2-0 win over West Ham United last weekend and scored three times in the derby last season, including an 89th-minute equaliser in a 3-3 draw at Goodison.
FIXTURES:
Today: (all 5pm unless otherwise stated): Aston Villa v Chelsea, Everton v Liverpool (7:30pm), Leicester City v Crystal Palace, Manchester City v Hull City, Queens Park Rangers v Southampton, Swansea City v Sunderland, Tottenham Hotspur v Arsenal (2:45pm)
Tomorrow: Burnley v West Bromwich Albion (4pm), Newcastle United v Stoke City (4:05pm), West Ham United v Manchester United (6:15pm). — AFP.
Online Reporter