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EPL Wednesday ~ Mar 19 - Game 30

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    Tottenham v Chelsea

    Tottenham goalkeeper Paul Robinson is a new injury worry with an ankle problem, while captain Ledley King is still troubled by his on-going calf injury.

    Younes Kaboul (knee) is in contention but Gareth Bale is out for the season.

    Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech is very close to a return from his ankle injury and he may be included in the squad.

    Chelsea have no fresh injury worries but coach Avram Grant must decide whether to choose Nicolas Anelka or Didier Drogba to lead the attack.

     

    Tottenham (from): Robinson, Cerny, Chimbonda, Hutton, Lee, Gilberto, Gunter, Woodgate, King, Kaboul, Dawson, Zokora, Tainio, Jenas, Malbranque, Lennon, Huddlestone, O'Hara, Boateng, Taarabt, Berbatov, Keane, Bent.

    Chelsea (from): Cech, Cudicini, Hilario, Ferreira, Belletti, Carvalho, Alex, Ben-Haim, Terry, A Cole, Bridge, Ballack, Lampard, Essien, Mikel, Lampard, Shevchenko, Pizarro, Sidwell, Wright-Phillips, Malouda, Drogba, Anelka, Kalou, Makelele.

     

     

  • Tottenham defender Jonathan Woodgate:
    "Believe me, Chelsea will be going all out to win. It will be a harder game than the final - Chelsea will want to put that right. "They are going for the title, they've always been in the hunt and they have players hitting form at the right time. "But we always fancy ourselves to beat anyone and this is no different."

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  • Chelsea boss Avram Grant on mis-firing strikers Nicolas Anelka and Dider Drogba:
    "I'm not concerned as long as the team scores. "I'm sure Nicolas and Didier will score goals. The team score, not one player, that is the way the team plays. "Against West Ham, we won because of Anelka. He played like a team player."

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    KEY PLAYER NOTES

    TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR

    Robbie KEANE is Tottenham's leading scorer with 21 goals. KEANE is also the club's top Premier League marksmen with 13. Pascal CHIMBONDA will be making his 100th Premier League appearance (Wigan and Tottenham).

     

    CHELSEA

    Frank LAMPARD is Chelsea's top scorer with 17 goals. LAMPARD is also the clubs' leading marksmen in the Premier League, with 10. (Nicolas ANELKA scored 10 for Bolton and has got one for Chelsea.) DROGBA is a hat-trick short of 50 Premier League goals in Chelsea colours.

     

    HEAD TO HEAD

    Chelsea are on the look out for their eighth Premier League double over Tottenham. Defeat in this corresponding fixture last season was the first time in five league visits Chelsea had conceded a goal. Spurs have won only one of 35 league meetings with their London rivals from the west end.

     

    at Spurs only
    League (inc PL): Spurs 22 wins, Chelsea 22, Draws 15
    Prem: Spurs 1 win, Chelsea 9, Draws 5

     

     

    LAST SEASON'S CORRESPONDING GAME

    Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 Chelsea
    5 November 2006 - Ref: Graham Poll
    Spurs scorers: Dawson 25, Lennon 52
    Chelsea scorer: Makelele 15
    Sent Off: Terry (Chelsea) 72

     

     

    THIS SEASON'S REVERSE FIXTURE

    Chelsea 2-0 Tottenham Hotspur
    12 January 2008 - Ref: Alan Wiley
    Chelsea scorers: Belletti 19, Wright-Phillips 80

     

     

    REFEREE

    Mike Riley (Leeds, Yorkshire)

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  • zocoss

     

    CARVALHO ISSUES RALLYING CALL

    Ricardo Carvalho has called on his Chelsea team-mates to keep the pressure on at the top of the Premier League with victories over Tottenham and Arsenal in their next two matches.

    The Blues turned in a disappointing performance to lose to Spurs in the Carling Cup final last month and Carvalho is keen to exact revenge. If Chelsea can beat Juande Ramos' side on Wednesday and then follow it up with a win against Arsenal at the weekend, they could find themselves top of the table.

    Manchester United, who face Bolton and Liverpool in their next two matches, are three points ahead of Chelsea and Carvalho admits it is crucial not to lose further ground. "These two derbies are decisive for us. If we get the six points then we will put the pressure on Manchester United in the race for the title," the defender told the Daily Mirror.

    "We cannot afford to fail now. We know that the Tottenham and Arsenal games are so important because it will put us back in touch with the leaders. "We suffered a big blow when we lost to Tottenham in the Carling Cup final and, of course, we want to make up for that and show people what we are capable of.

    "It was the same in the FA Cup. Some people lost belief in us and that did affect our confidence, of course. "But if we win these two games we will be back in the title race - believing we can win it."

    Carvalho has been encouraged by Chelsea's recent performances in the league and has warned United and Arsenal that they will keep fighting all the way until the end of the season. He said: "Even though we have suffered badly in the two cup competitions, we have come back strongly and fought like lions in every match since.

    "We are as dangerous and as strong as ever, and determined to win a trophy this season. "We know for a club like Chelsea it would be a failure not to win a major title."

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    SPURS `READY` FOR CHELSEA



    Didier Zokora and Jonathan Woodgate say that Tottenham are ready to repeat their Carling Cup heroics and derail Chelsea's title challenge.

     

    Ivory Coast international Zokora is targeting three wins from three games against Chelsea, Portsmouth and Newcastle as they are unbeaten at home in the league since early December.

     

    The first of those games is against Chelsea, who Spurs beat 2-1 in the Carling Cup final.

     

    "We've now got three home games in a row and I'm looking at nine points because the confidence is there and we will have the fans behind us," Zokora told the club's official website.

     

    "Chelsea will be wanting to beat us because they can go joint second in the table, but I'm always confident when we play at home because our fans always get behind us.

     

    "The players are ready for Chelsea because it's a London derby and we are always ready for games like this."

     

    Defender Jonathan Woodgate said: "It will be a harder game than the final, without a doubt and they will want to put that right.

     

    "They are going for the league title, they've always been there or thereabouts and the race is still wide open. They've top players who are hitting form at the right time.

     

    "But we always fancy ourselves to beat anyone, home or away, and this is no different. We also want to put matters right after losing at Manchester City.

     

    "When you are a professional footballer you want to win as many games as you can and keep pushing up the league. We don't want to be in the bottom half of the table.

     

    "We've nine games left, 27 points to play for and we'll be looking to win every game."

  • omgukilledkenny

    Teams:

    Tottenham: Robinson, Hutton, Woodgate, King, Chimbonda, Lennon, Jenas, Zokora, Malbranque, Berbatov, Keane

    Subs: Cerny, Tainio, Dawson, Huddlestone, Bent

    Chelsea: Cudicini, Ferreira, Carvalho, Terry, Ashley Cole, Essien, Makelele, Lampard, Joe Cole, Drogba, Kalou

    Subs: Hilario, Shevchenko, Ballack, Wright-Phillips, Alex

    Referee: Mike Riley (Yorkshire)

     

     

     

     

    Teams:

    Man Utd: Kuszczak, Fletcher, Pique, Vidic, O'Shea, Ronaldo, Hargreaves, Anderson, Nani, Saha, Tevez

    Subs: Foster, Evra, Brown, Rooney, Scholes

    Bolton: Al Habsi, Steinsson, Meite, Andrew O'Brien, Gardner, Diouf, McCann, Guthrie, Joey O'Brien, Taylor, Davies

    Subs: Walker, Hunt, Giannakopoulos, Campo, Rasiak

    Referee: Alan Wiley (Staffordshire)

  • dragg

    spurs 4 - 4 chelsea

    one of the best matches this season.  both teams played very well.

    man u will be glad with the result.

    cudicini made 2 super saves.

     

     

     

     

  • zocoss
    Tottenham 4-4 Chelsea
    Robbie Keane's stunning goal gave Spurs a thrilling point against Chelsea.

    Didier Drogba headed Chelsea in front after three minutes but Jonathan Woodgate rose to equalise for Spurs. Michael Essien's clever finish restored Chelsea's lead after 21 minutes and Joe Cole looked to have sealed the points with a third in the 52nd minute.

    Dimitar Berbatov's header and a Tom Huddlestone strike put Spurs level, and after Cole hit his second, Keane curled in superbly two minutes from time. Spurs fielded the side that beat Chelsea in the Carling Cup final - and showed videos of their triumph on the White Hart Lane big screens before kick-off.

    The cheers were swiftly silenced as Chelsea swept into a third-minute lead, Drogba heading in John Terry's cross at the far post. Joe Cole thought he had doubled Chelsea's lead three minutes later when he rounded Spurs keeper Paul Robinson to score, but the strike was ruled out for offside.

    Spurs delivered a timely response to level after 12 minutes when Wembley goal hero Woodgate rose above Drogba and Terry to send a powerful header high beyond Carlo Cudicini from Jermaine Jenas's free-kick. Chelsea looked the more dangerous side and should have restored their lead when Salomon Kalou just failed to apply the finishing touch to Joe Cole's driven cross. But they did not have long to wait before going back in front, Essien beating Robinson with a neat finish after 20 minutes with the outside of his right foot after a clever ball from Joe Cole unlocked the Spurs defence.

    Drogba wasted a good chance to extend Chelsea's advantage two minutes before the break after Frank Lampard robbed Jenas. The striker selfishly shot straight at Robinson with the England midfield man unmarked. There was an unsavoury scene on the stroke of half-time when Ashley Cole floored Spurs defender Alan Hutton near the touchline with a tackle that was both high and late - and worthy of a red card in the current disciplinary climate. Chelsea's players - led with an air of inevitability by England captain John Terry under the watchful eye of coach Fabio Capello - rushed and surrounded referee Mike Riley in a chaotic scene that did them no credit. When the crowd of Chelsea players finally dispersed, Riley showed leniency in producing only a yellow card - and even then Cole stood pointedly with his back to the official before receiving his punishment.

    Joe Cole had been a shining light for Chelsea, and he added a third for Chelsea after 52 minutes when he escaped a flimsy challenge from Pascal Chimbonda to score via Robinson's body. But Spurs were back in contention after 61 minutes when Berbatov rose above Terry to meet Huddlestone's corner and send a looping header over Cudicini.

    The Italian keeper produced a stunning save three minutes later to preserve Chelsea's lead, denying Keane at point-blank range after he was picked out by Berbatov's pass. It was an end-to-end affair, and Essien almost grabbed his second with a low shot that beat Robinson but rebounded to safety off an upright. But Spurs' all-out attacking approach paid off with 15 minutes left when Keane's corner fell to the giant Huddlestone, who fired a superb left foot drive beyond Cudicini.

    Spurs sensed an unlikely victory, but Chelsea responded in style and the inspirational Joe Cole put them back in front in the 80th minute, shrugging off another weak tackle from Chimbonda to beat Robinson emphatically. There was another twist after 88 minutes when a long clearance hit Ricardo Carvalho on the back and Keane reacted quickly to curl a 20-yard shot past Cudicini. And in a grandstand finish, Cudicini produced a wonder save from Berbatov when the Bulgarian looked poised to cap a magnificent match with the winner.

     

     

    Tottenham: Robinson, Hutton, Woodgate, King (Bent 68), Chimbonda, Lennon, Jenas (Huddlestone 46), Zokora, Malbranque, Berbatov, Keane.
    Subs Not Used: Cerny, Tainio, Dawson.

    Booked: Keane, Huddlestone.

    Goals: Woodgate 12, Berbatov 61, Huddlestone 75, Keane 88.

    Chelsea: Cudicini, Ferreira (Shevchenko 90), Carvalho, Terry, Ashley Cole, Essien, Makelele, Lampard, Joe Cole (Ballack 82), Drogba, Kalou (Alex 71).
    Subs Not Used: Hilario, Wright-Phillips.

    Booked: Joe Cole, Ashley Cole.

    Goals: Drogba 3, Essien 20, Joe Cole 52, 80.

    Att: 36,178

    Ref: Mike Riley (Yorkshire).

  • zocoss

    I think Chelsea used up practically their first team for this match without consideration for their Arsenal match coming up on Sunday... And this match also was a very physically demanding one... Hope they will be able to recover in time to face the Gunners...

  • dragg

    riley should have sent ashley cole off for his tackle and bad behaviour.

     

     

  • omgukilledkenny

    lucky cashley.

  • dragg

    he has now apologised for both disgraceful acts.

    unbelievable!!!

     

     

     

  • zocoss

    Well, he still want to be in the England team what... Its no longer McClaren in charge whereby he can do whatever he wants and still gets away with it... Capello watching and he won't want to see such behaviour from his player... And Cole knows that...

  • zocoss

    Ashley Actually Apologises...

     

    Chelsea defender Ashley Cole has apologised for his tackle on Alan Hutton and his reaction to referee Mike Riley.

     

    Cole's tackle on Tottenham defender Hutton during the 4-4 draw at White Hart Lane on Wednesday night sparked a red card storm. The incident provoked an angry reaction from both sets of players and both benches with Spurs feeling the former Arsenal man deserved a red card for the tackle.

     

    Cole also had a stand-off with referee Mike Riley over the tackle with the official booking the defender for the offence. The England international has now issued a double apology for the tackle and his actions to Riley after reviewing footage of the incident.

     

    "I'd like to apologise to anyone I offended and of course Alan Hutton who I tackled. "I didn't mean to go in hard that way, it was high but I tried to read the ball and get the ball first, but he was a little bit too quick for me. "It wasn't malicious and I'm a little disappointed with what people are saying, that I meant it. Of course it was a bad tackle at the time but in the heat of the moment you want to win the game and win every tackle, and as I said I'm sorry for Alan, but it was never meant.

     

    Cole also insisted he never meant to disrespect Riley and admitted he needs to work on controlling his emotions. "I'm an emotional person, things can happen on the pitch very quickly but I didn't mean to disrespect the referee," added Cole. "I recognise this is a part of my game that I need to work on and control."