Jose Mourinho will cross swords with Martin O’Neill on Saturday for the first time since getting the better of the Northern Irishman in a memorable and controversial Uefa Cup final in 2003.
Mourinho’s Porto made full use of the game’s black arts on the way to a 3-2 win over Celtic.
But time appears to have dulled O’Neill’s memory of the time-wasting and feigning of injuries that so enraged him on that night in Seville.
He scoffs at talks of a revenge mission, insisting he has nothing but admiration for the man who left Porto after winning the Champions League in 2004 and has since guided Chelsea to back-to-back Premiership titles.
”He proved himself in Portugal and he’s proving himself at Chelsea,” said O’Neill, who will lead Aston Villa to Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
Villa have looked like a side reborn under O’Neill this season and their fans are hoping new American owner Randy Lerner’s pockets will prove to be as deep as those of Chelsea’s owner Roman Abramovich.
But the scale of their task on Saturday is underlined by one simple stat: Chelsea have not lost a Premiership match at home since Mourinho touched down in west London.
”They’ve got such great talent in their side and they make winning games such a habit now that people think who is ever going to do it,” admitted O’Neill.
Mourinho has seen his side quietly put together a six-match winning run that has left them top of the table and with maximum points in their Champions League group.
But the perfectionist Portuguese believes there is still room for improvement as he seeks to find the best formula for integrating Michael Ballack and Andriy Shevchenko into his side.
”We’ve still got some work to do,” he said, while insisting that Shevchenko, who is without a goal in six matches, will remain in the side until he finds his finishing form.
Peter Crouch was the toast of Anfield in midweek but the England star could be straight back to the bench when Liverpool take on Bolton on Saturday in the pick of the weekend’s Premiership clashes.
Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez has not named an unchanged side for the last 93 games and Crouch admitted: ”Although I scored two goals against Galatasaray there is no telling whether I will be playing in the next game.”
Crouch’s goals against the Turks, the second an acrobatic scissor kick, have thrown down the gauntlet to Dirk Kuyt and Craig Bellamy, who had looked to be establishing themselves as Benitez’s first-choice strike pairing.
An early kick-off at the Reebok Stadium means a win could lift Liverpool — temporarily at least — into the top four for the first time this season.
But Bolton are notoriously difficult opponents on their home turf and appear to have weathered the storm over allegations that manager Sam Allardyce received kickbacks, or bungs, from transfer dealings.
A 1-0 win over high-flying Portsmouth on Monday lifted Allardyce’s side above Liverpool and into sixth in the table.
”After all that has gone on, that win meant a lot to me and now we have to crack on and build on it,” Allardyce said.
Arsene Wenger will begin a new decade in charge of Arsenal by seeking to extend his side’s winning run to five matches at the expense of Charlton, who are looking like relegation candidates after losing five of their six Premiership matches under new boss Iain Dowie.
Manchester United are not in action until Sunday, when Newcastle visit Old Trafford. — Sapa-AFP
Fixtures:
Saturday:
Bolton vs Liverpool, Charlton vs Arsenal, Chelsea vs Aston Villa, Everton vs Man City, Sheffield Utd vs Middlesbrough
Sunday:
Blackburn vs Wigan Athletic, Manchester Utd vs Newcastle, Tottenham vs Portsmouth, West Ham vs Reading
Monday
Watford v Fulham