Around west London, Chelsea fans are talking up the Blues’ chances of winning the Premier League.
Fresh from pounding Wolverhampton 5-0 last week in a league match, the Blues are home to Aston Villa on Saturday and challenging Arsenal and Manchester United at the top of the standings.
Chelsea manager Claudio Ranieri is trying to dampen the title talk as he jiggers around a new squad purchased by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich for £111-million in the off-season.
”It’s too soon to speak about the championship,” Ranieri said.
”I’d like to be in this situation in May but we’re only in September now. It’s normal to have high expectations so I’d like to continue and build our foundations.”
”We’re in good form and now it’s important we continue.”
Argentine striker Hernan Crespo scored two goals last weekend against Wolves and is beginning to show why Chelsea spent £16,8-million to get him from Inter Milan.
Villa also has a hot Latin-American striker in Colombian Juan Pablo Angel, who scored a hat trick this week in a 5-0 League Cup win over second-division Wycombe. He has scored six goals in the last four games and poses a major threat teaming with England international Darius Vassell.
”Villa are a good team and Angel and Vassell are very dangerous strikers,” Ranieri said. ”It won’t be an easy game but we’re ready.”
League leaders Arsenal were favoured to pick up three points in an unusual Friday-night match at Highbury against struggling Newcastle.
Arsenal tops the standings with 14 points followed by Chelsea and Man United (13 each), Southampton (12), and Man City, Liverpool and Birmingham (11 each). At the bottom, Wolves have one point topped by Newcastle (3), and Tottenham and Middlesbrough (4 each).
In Saturday’s full schedule: Birmingham vs Portsmouth, Bolton vs Wolves, Chelsea vs Aston Villa, Leicester vs Manchester United, Southampton vs Middlesbrough.
On Sunday: Blackburn vs Fulham, Charlton vs Liverpool, Everton vs Leeds, Man City vs Tottenham.
Manchester United’s striker Ole Gunner Solskjaer has joined Wes Brown and Paul Scholes on the long-term injury list and is out for at least three months after surgery to repair a knee problem.
”It is a blow for us and now the transfer window has closed, there is nothing I can do about it,” manager Alex Ferguson said ahead of his club’s first visit to Leicester’s new Walkers Stadium.
”But I do feel we have a good enough squad to cope.”
Leicester scored a 4-0 victory over Leeds in its last home game but tumbled 2-1 at Liverpool on Saturday.
Man United had two players charged with misconduct this week by the FA — Ryan Giggs and Cristiano Ronaldo. Arsenal had six charged following the pushing and shoving after the two clubs drew 0-0 last Sunday.
The scene looked a bit like the brawl in 1990 between the two sides, which led to both clubs having points deducted.
This time Arsenal and United players jostled with each other after the final whistle and three Gunners players — Martin Keown, Ray Parlour and Lauren — taunted Reds’ striker Ruud van Nistelrooy after the Dutch star missed an second-half injury time penalty.
England defender Ashley Cole and German goalkeeper Jens Lehmann also face a charge while Patrick Vieira, sent off nine minutes from the end for aiming a kick at Van Nistelrooy, is accused of ”improper conduct” on top of facing a suspension for the eighth red card of his Arsenal career.
Tottenham, which fired Glenn Hoddle on Sunday, scored an impressive 3-0 win at division-one Coventry in the League Cup on Wednesday under caretaker manager David Pleat.
Spurs meet a Man City team that has moved up to fifth in the standings but had to fight back from 2-1 down at home to modest Belgian club Lokeren to win 3-2 in the Uefa Cup on Wednesday. — Sapa-AP