West Ham aiming for win over demoralized Chelsea ahead of big week

The Associated Press ,  London   |  Fri, 02/29/2008 8:19 PM

West Ham has already beaten Manchester United and Liverpool at home this season. Now, it's aiming to add a demoralized Chelsea to the list.

After losing to Tottenham in the League Cup final last week, Chelsea now has only three trophies to aim for - and the Blues could be out of two more competitions within a week.

After playing West Ham on Saturday, Chelsea hosts a Champions League second-leg game against Olympiakos on Wednesday and is then away to Barnsley in the FA Cup quarterfinals three days later.

"You know they won't be looking forward to coming to Upton Park," West Ham goalkeeper Robert Green said. "Between ourselves and our fans, we can make it as intimidating as possible and really get stuck into them."

West Ham beat Man United 2-1 on Dec. 29 and Liverpool on Jan. 30 at Upton Park.

The Hammers have lost its last six games against Chelsea. Their last victory was in May 2003 when they had Joe Cole in the team. The last victory was in May 2003 when they had Joe Cole in the team. The England midfielder is now at Chelsea, along with former Hammer Frank
Lampard.

Chelsea's 2-1 loss to Tottenham was its first in 17 matches and came amid reported unrest at the club.

British newspapers said that FC Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard has been lined up to replace manager Avram Grant, while captain John Terry had a training-ground argument with assistant coach Henk ten Cate the day before the League Cup final.

Terry took the squad paint-balling on Wednesday in a team-bonding exercise as Chelsea bids to bounce back from the upset defeat.

"The boys worked their socks off to get to the final, and it's the worst time to lose," Terry said. "But we have to pick ourselves up, and we're still fortunate enough to be in all three
competitions, and we're still very much in contention.

"The Premier League is still close, and we have a great chance in the Champions League and FA Cup, which is our trophy, so we need to stay positive."

Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson isn't ruling Chelsea out of the title race.

"The number of points Chelsea are behind Arsenal is not insurmountable," Ferguson said. "The fact that they have got us and Arsenal at home, and their record is so good, you would have to
think they have still got a big chance in the Premier League."

Arsenal leads the Premier League with 64 points, followed by Man United with 61, Chelsea with 55, and Everton with 50. Liverpool and Aston Villa have 47 points.

Also Saturday, its: Derby vs. Sunderland; Middlesbrough vs. Reading; Birmingham vs. Tottenham; Arsenal vs. Aston Villa; Fulham vs. Manchester United; Newcastle vs. Blackburn; and Manchester City vs. Wigan.

On Sunday, Liverpool is at Bolton and Everton hosts Portsmouth.

Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez has joined his captain Steven Gerrard in airing frustration at the club's form.

The Reds' most realistic chance of a trophy is in the Champions League, but Gerrard has even said that won't make up for the disappointment of the league campaign.

Liverpool, which holds the most number of English titles with 18, hasn't won the league since 1990.

"Everyone at Liverpool shared Steven's sentiments, there is no question about that," Benitez said. "We wanted to be further up the table and the fact that we are not is a disappointment to
everyone.

"But the most important thing now is to concentrate on what we can still do."

One club watching Liverpool's performances is cross-town rival Everton. The Toffees are unbeaten in seven league games this year and are eager to finish in fourth place for the final Champions League spot.

The last time that Everton finished above Liverpool in the standings was in 2005, when the Reds won the Champions League.

Although Liverpool finished fifth, UEFA allowed it to defend its European title by entering in the first qualifying round of the Champions League the following season. (***)

 

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