Anelka goal gives Guus victory at Villa

• zocoss

  17 Feb 09, 21:29

  LAMPARD: WE MUST BEAT VILLA

  

  
  

  Saturday, 21 February 2009

   

   

  Channel 27:   - 8:45 pm  -  "Live"   

      

  Aston Villa v Chelsea (8.45)

        

  
  

  Frank Lampard has admitted that Chelsea have to beat Aston Villa on Saturday if they are to have any hope of winning the title. 

  Villa moved ahead of Chelsea into third place after beating Blackburn earlier in February, meaning that the clash between the two at Villa Park on Saturday lunchtime takes on extra significance. 

  "Aston Villa is massive because they are in front of us," Lampard said in The Times. "To still be in the chase we have to win the game. It is going to be tough but we have a lot of big players, a strong team and we can do it." 

  The game will be Guus Hiddink's first in charge of Chelsea, and Lampard has been impressed with the Dutchman's impact so far. 

  Lampard said: "Hiddink has cast his eye over training and the game and you can see a little lift in the lads trying to impress him, which always happens when a new manager comes in. 

  "I think he will be happy with the desire and spirit we showed at 1-0 down against Watford and some of the football we played on a difficult pitch was good."

• Chris88110

  17 Feb 09, 21:52

  This is gonna be a tough one or Chelsea but i expect them to pull through 1-0 or 2-1.

• zocoss

  17 Feb 09, 22:08

  Guus Hiddink will also have the "new manager's luck" for this first game... Poor Villa... They are so dead...

• Scania N113CRB l0v3r

  17 Feb 09, 22:23

  lolx sure bo beat Villa, u all last time shot 22 goals at Hull City goal Post also didnt scored.... this time decrease ur shots la

• zocoss

  17 Feb 09, 22:31

  New manager mah, so all the players will be doing their best to impress him lor... Good for them also lah in a way...

  Villa got bigger problems, they got a UEFA Cup last 32 clash against CSKA Moscow tomorrow while Chelsea is free... So they won't have as much time to prepare or rest...

• Y_Shun

  17 Feb 09, 22:43

  Originally posted by Scania N113CRB l0v3r:

  lolx sure bo beat Villa, u all last time shot 22 goals at Hull City goal Post also didnt scored.... this time decrease ur shots la

  You need to see situation.

   

  This is an away match for Chelsea, Villa won't be parking bus infront of goal.

  This is where Chelsea will have the space to score goals.

  No idea what formation Chelsea is gonna use 4-4-2 or 4-3-3. However....I think it will be a 4-3-3.

• zocoss

  17 Feb 09, 22:46

  Guus has a history of going with the 3 - 4 - 3 formation... so who knows...

• Chris88110

  17 Feb 09, 22:47

  Does'nt matter, this is'nt gonna be a walk in the park for Chelsea, Villa want that champions league berth you know. A win against Chelsea would definetely solidify their position in the top 4. After all Chelsea have been through....... well, for all we know,  Scholari might be right,  maybe Anelka and Drogba really can't play together 

• limpper

  18 Feb 09, 01:07

  chelsea to win

• zocoss

  18 Feb 09, 10:44

  Hiddink's Chelsea blueprint gathers pace with speedy Mancienne
  

  
  

  Impressing: Mancienne

   

  Guus Hiddink is considering handing central defender Michael Mancienne a first Barclays Premier League start at Aston Villa on Saturday.

  Mancienne, who played at right back in the 3-1 FA Cup victory over Watford last
  weekend, has been thrust into contention because of injuries to Ricardo Carvalho
  (hamstring) and Alex (ankle), and doubts about the quality of Branislav Ivanovic.

  Hiddink watched several DVDs of Aston Villa’s recent games yesterday afternoon and is already aware of the pace that Ashley Young and Gabriel Agbonlahor possess.

  That has convinced the Dutch coach to prepare for several scenarios ahead of his first game in charge of Chelsea, including using Mancienne’s speed to combat Villa’s attacking threat.

  Hiddink has been impressed with Mancienne’s attitude in his first few days in charge and paired the 21-year-old with captain John Terry for most of yesterday’s training session at Stamford Bridge, which was open to fans.

  Terry said of the new coach: ‘He’s made a few changes and in training he got us to press more and play higher up the pitch. It looked sharp, with everyone fighting for their places again.’

  Although Alex is expected to declare himself fit for Saturday lunchtime’s clash, Mancienne emerged as a viable alternative during the hour-and-a-half practice session at the stadium.

  Chelsea have conceded only 15 goals in the Premier League this season, but they have looked far from comfortable in recent weeks and Hiddink will not select players on reputation alone.

  That is why inexperienced Mancienne, who was called into the England squad for
  the friendly against Germany last November, has suddenly come into the first-team
  reckoning.

   

   

  Could this be Guus Hiddink's line-up (If Alex & Carvalho still out) ? Seems quite good leh...

   

                           Cech

  Bosingwa / Mancienne / Terry / Ferreira

                           Deco

                 Ballack / Lampard

                          Mikel

                  Anelka / Drogba

   

  Kalou, Di Santo, Malouda, Belletti, Ivanovic, Alex.

• zocoss

  18 Feb 09, 12:45

  There is something to take note here... And that is, Chelsea have not won on Villa Park for 10 years already...

• sg_forum

  18 Feb 09, 13:14

  Draw between them will be nice...lol

• zocoss

  19 Feb 09, 22:20

  INJURY POSER

  Villa face anxious wait over Heskey and Milner

   

  

   

  Aston Villa boss Martin O'Neill is sweating over the availability of both Emile Heskey and James Milner ahead of Saturday lunchtime's crunch showdown with Chelsea at Villa Park.

  Villa go into the game above Guus Hiddink's new side and know victory could go a long way to securing Champions League football.

  O'Neill has been without Heskey, a £3.5m January capture from Wigan Athletic, since he aggravated an Achilles injury while on England duty in Spain and remains a doubt for the weekend. John Carew's goalscoring appearance against CSKA Moscow in the UEFA Cup does though provide an option to fall back on.

  But of more concern would be the loss of Milner, a player who has been hitting top form over the last month and has scored a number of goals. The England Under-21 international, injured against Everton in the FA Cup, was also left out of Wednesday's UEFA Cup game in a bid to make sure he is fit to face Chelsea.

  O'Neill said: "Milner has got a bit of a thigh problem and the doctor thought he would have a better chance for Saturday if he didn't play against CSKA.

  "Heskey is improving and we will see how he is during the next 24 hours. I will have a better idea on Friday.''

  O'Neill also revealed he would be seeking an audience with England coach Fabio Capello to ensure there is no repeat of the Heskey situation.

  "I have said already that I wasn't best pleased,'' he added. "I haven't spoken to Capello yet. I will do. I think it is important for me to speak to him. He is coming to the game on Saturday.''

  Villa are currently two points above Chelsea in the table, and three points behind second placed Liverpool, but despite the Blues' recent troubles O'Neill is expecting Hiddink's men to rise to the occasion.

  "Obviously Guus Hiddink has got quality players at his club and it is only a few months ago that Chelsea were the only side this season to have beaten us very well,'' he added.

  "Anyone coming away from the game that evening would have been surprised to have seen a change of manager by this time.

  "But things can happen, so fickle is the game.''

• Chris88110

  19 Feb 09, 22:57

  Scarli Villa win, Liverpool lose, for all we know Villa could challenge for the title. heh

• zocoss

  20 Feb 09, 13:05

  Guus Hiddink To Pair Anelka & Drogba, Reinvent Deco At Chelsea

  'The Goose' has given a few interesting indications as to the changes he will enforce over the coming weeks...

   

  

   

  The Times reports that Chelsea manager Guus Hiddink paired strikers Nicolas Anelka and Didier Drogba together for a ten-a-side game in training yesterday.
  
  The Frenchman and the Ivorian were rarely used alongside each other under Luiz Felipe Scolari; indeed, the Brazilian only once started them both in the same game, as he preferred a lone-striker system.
  
  However, after watching the two rip apart Watford at the weekend during their 17-minute stint as a traditional pairing, Hiddink wanted to give them a decent run-out as he pitted the first team against the reserves.
  
  That wasn't the only interesting selection made by the Dutch trainer, who experimented with Deco, the Portuguese attacking midfielder, in a deep-lying role.
  
  After a blistering start to his Chelsea career, the former Barcelona star has struggled to keep with the pace of the Premier League in recent times and been restricted mostly to substitute appearances.
  
  But the new gaffer has highlighted Deco as key if the Blues are to mount any sort of revival between now and May, and hopes the 31-year-old can complete an Andrea Pirlo-like transformation.
  
  Hiddink's first game in charge comes at third-placed Aston Villa this weekend.

• zocoss

  21 Feb 09, 10:44

  Martin O'Neill warns Chelsea must beat Aston Villa

  Martin O'Neill, the Aston Villa manager, has warned Chelsea that their title hopes this season will almost certainly be over if they fail to secure at least a draw at Villa Park this afternoon, before declaring that his side are confident of taking the full three points.

  

  Homegrown: Martin O'Neill is relishing prospect of Chelsea match. 

   

   

  With Manchester United having opened up a ten point lead at the top of the table, O’Neill said that Chelsea must not only go unbeaten for the rest of the season, they must win 11 of their remaining 13 matches.

  “I do think that,” he said. “I think that with Manchester United having completed the same number of games as everybody else and opening up that five point gap over Liverpool, and another five over Chelsea, Chelsea will feel now that with 13 games left, for them to stand any chance they will need to be unbeaten in the 13, and win 11.

  "Ten points behind Manchester United are a lot of points.” "That would take some doing but, with that group of players who have been over the same course before, it is not beyond them to achieve that.

  "Last season, with about this number of games left it looked as if they were out of the picture and then they had a very good run and only effectively lost the chance when they drew with Wigan who scored very late on.

  "That was with only a couple of games left so they pulled it right around and then were within a width of a goalpost of winning the Champions League final."

  James Milner and Emile Heskey were back in training yesterday, so confidence is high at Villa, despite their comprehensive 2-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge earlier in the season being still fresh in the memory.

  “We were brushed aside,” O’Neill conceded. “But I think that we have picked up since then. There is plenty of confidence and I think we can win.”

  His confidence was echoed by John Carew, the club’s Norwegian striker, who said: “There’s a reason why we are two points ahead of them.

  "We’ve been better than them this season. I think we are going to go out and show that on Saturday.”

• zocoss

  21 Feb 09, 21:58

  52 mins:

  Aston Villa 0 - 1 Chelsea

• limpper

  21 Feb 09, 22:00

  anelka GOAL!

• Y_Shun

  21 Feb 09, 22:05

  worried..  chelsea miss pass a no. of timr

• [J]erry

  21 Feb 09, 22:44

  win

• kopiosatu

  21 Feb 09, 22:45

  how come the ending part when the players hug each other is so wayang

  i see frank lampard signalling to other players to go over to show "player cohesion"

• Scania N113CRB l0v3r

  21 Feb 09, 23:38

  lolx Chelsea win haiz

• Y_Shun

  22 Feb 09, 01:24

  the kind of futball they play is mourinho style

   

  1 goal and parkbus....zzz

• [J]erry

  22 Feb 09, 01:32

  Originally posted by Y_Shun:

  the kind of futball they play is mourinho style

   

  1 goal and parkbus....zzz

  bo bian

• Trump_Card

  22 Feb 09, 01:37

  Originally posted by Y_Shun:

  the kind of futball they play is mourinho style

   

  1 goal and parkbus....zzz

  of course la... last win for chelsea at villa park was exactly 10 years ago leh...

  and the goal was a good one too... where lampard beats the 2 players with some quick thinking and neat footwork then passing the ball for anelka to chip over the keeper with his first touch