Manchester City v Chelsea
MANCHESTER CITY COULD soon be left to rue their bad luck, as they prepare to face a Chelsea team finally hitting form in all competitions.
City host Chelsea in the English Premier League on Wednesday, and need maximum points to prevent Manchester United from increasing their lead in the title race.
United took advantage of City’s 1-0 defeat at Swansea earlier this month to move top of the table, and a 5-0 win away to Wolves on Sunday sent the defending champions four points clear.
Chelsea struggled for much of the season under former manager Andre Villas-Boas, and City would surely have fancied their chances of forcing a positive result against the west London club.
But with Villas-Boas sacked and his assistant Roberto di Matteo put in charge, Chelsea have begun to orchestrate a revival in recent weeks.
They defeated Championship club Birmingham in an FA Cup fifth-round replay, before seeing off Stoke City 1-0 in the league.
Rivals may have started to take notice when Chelsea defeated Napoli 4-1 in the Champions League round of 16, sealing a thrilling 5-4 aggregate victory to book their place in the last eight.
Now the only English club left in continental competition, Chelsea backed up that triumph with a convincing 5-2 win at home to Leicester in the FA Cup quarter-finals.
City, meanwhile, have managed just one win in their last three outings. They went down 1-0 away to Sporting Lisbon in the Europa League round of 16, followed by that surprise loss at Swansea.
On Thursday they came from 2-0 down to beat Sporting 3-2 at home, but it was not enough to prevent their exit from the competition via the away goals rule.
Looking for a spark to restore his team’s vitality of earlier in the campaign, City manager Roberto Mancini may recall striker Carlos Tevez, who has ended his self-imposed exile.
Three City defenders are under injury clouds heading into the match. Key centre-back Vincent Kompany is unlikely to return from a calf problem, while fullback Pablo Zabaleta continues to struggle with a thigh strain.
Kompany’s fellow central defender Joleon Lescott could be back from a groin injury, and midfielder Gareth Barry has a chance of overcoming illness to feature.
Chelsea will reshuffle their defence as John Terry’s knee will prevent his participation and Brazil defender David Luiz (ankle) is also a doubt for Di Matteo, who saw record-signing Fernando Torres end a 24-match goal drought by scoring twice against Leicester.
QPR v Liverpool
Relegation strugglers Queens Park Rangers are unlikely to find much-needed points easy to come by at home to Liverpool on Wednesday.
Mark Hughes’ QPR side have slipped into the bottom three in the English Premier League after losing four and drawing two of their last six matches.
They face arguably the hardest run-in of any team in danger of the drop, with the visit of Liverpool the first in a sequence of daunting fixtures.
After that they go to Sunderland next Saturday, before matches at home to Arsenal and away to Manchester United.
QPR’s last fixture ended in a 2-1 loss away to fellow relegation candidates Bolton Wanderers.
The match officials at the Reebok Stadium incurred the wrath of Hughes after his team were denied a goal, despite Clint Hill’s shot appearing to cross the line.
If the promoted club is to preserve its top-flight status at the first attempt, the players will need their luck to change when Kenny Dalglish brings Liverpool to Loftus Road this week.
In contrast to struggling QPR, morale is likely to be high among Dalglish’s players, who have won their last two matches in succession.
A 3-0 derby win at home to Everton last Tuesday was followed by a 2-1 victory over Stoke City in the FA Cup quarter-finals.
Liverpool could face local rivals Everton again in the last four of competition, but only if the Goodison Park outfit can win their replay away to Sunderland.
With that fixture in mind, it will be important for Liverpool, who are seventh on the Premier League table, to maintain momentum, and keep the pressure on the European challengers above them in the standings.
Both teams have their fair share of injury worries prior to the clash. QPR forwards Heidar Helguson (groin) DJ Campbell (hamstring) and Federico Macheda (ankle) are all out.
Defender Fitz Hall and playmaker Adel Taarabt are both doubtful, while midfielder Alejandro Faurlin will not play again this season due to a knee ligament injury.
As for Liverpool, defender Daniel Agger has been ruled out, while fullback Glen Johnson and forward Craig Bellamy are doubtful.
Holding player Lucas Leiva will not return this season as he continues to recover from a serious knee injury.
Everton v Arsenal
Arsenal’s recent revival will be put to the test when they face a stubborn Everton team at Goodison Park on Wednesday. The North London club have battled costly inconsistency and poor results throughout the season.
The low point arrived with a 4-0 thrashing away to AC Milan in the Champions League round of 16 on February 16. That was followed by a 2-0 defeat to Sunderland in the FA Cup fifth round, and it looked like worse might be on the way as they trailed 2-0 at home to fierce local rivals Tottenham Hotspur on February 26.
But Arsenal rallied to beat Spurs 5-2, and have since gone from strength to strength.
They won 2-1 away to fellow European hopefuls Liverpool a week later, before coming close to a remarkable recovery against Milan, winning the return fixture 3-0 to restore pride. And last week they scored a last-minute winner to beat top-six side Newcastle 2-1 at home in the Premier League.
Flawless
The latest challenge for Wenger’s resurgent team will be to survive what is sure to be a testing examination on the blue half of Merseyside.
Everton have been far from flawless themselves this term, winning twice, drawing twice and losing once from their last five matches in all competitions.
They could only draw 1-1 away to Premier League strugglers QPR on March 3, but hit back with a 1-0 win at home to Champions League-chasing Tottenham.
A painful 3-0 defeat followed at the hands of local rivals Liverpool. Manager David Moyes bemused supporters by fielding an apparently weakened team in the derby at Anfield, leading to suggestions the Scottish manager is prioritising further progression in the FA Cup.
Everton were held 1-1 at home to Sunderland in the quarter-finals of that competition on Saturday, meaning they must win a replay at the Stadium of Light if they are to reach a Wembley semi-final against Liverpool.
Moyes has close to a full complement of players to choose from for the Arsenal clash, with only midfielder Darren Gibson sidelined by a knee injury.
Arsenal have no new injury worries, but remain without long-term absentees Per Mertesacker and Jack Wilshere.
Midfielders Francis Coquelin and Abou Diaby, together with defender Sebastian Squillaci, are all nearing a return, but are not expected to feature against Everton.
Tottenham Hotspur v Stoke
The atmosphere is certain to be somewhat subdued at White Hart Lane when Tottenham Hotspur host Stoke City in the English Premier League.
Tottenham’s last home match, an FA Cup quarter-final, was abandoned in the 41st minute on Saturday, after Bolton Wanderers midfielder Fabrice Muamba collapsed on the field with a serious heart problem.
Muamba, who was saved by the quick work of the attending medical and ambulance staff, remains in a serious condition at a London hospital.
Players, manager and supporters of rival clubs have united in support of the stricken player and his family this week, offering a reminder of matters far more important than football.
With such sombre events as a context, Stoke will arrive in north London for Wednesday’s match. Hosts Tottenham will be looking to arrest a worrying form slump which has seen them lose their last three league matches in succession. The bad run began when they blew an early 2-0 lead to lose 5-2 at local rivals Arsenal on February 27.
That was followed by a 3-1 defeat at home to Manchester United earlier this month, before a 1-0 reverse away to Everton on March 10.
Spurs remain third in the standings, occupying the final automatic Champions League qualification place. But they have seen their lead over fourth-placed Arsenal shrink to just one point, and must return to winning ways quickly if they are to avoid being overhauled.
As for Stoke, Tony Pulis’ team have been inconsistent early in 2012, winning twice but also losing five times in their last seven league outings.
Domestic concern
Europa League exertions may have taken their toll, but Stoke’s run in UEFA competition came to an end against Valencia in the round of 32. And a 2-1 defeat to Liverpool on Sunday signalled the end of their bid to replicate last year’s FA Cup final appearance.
With those distractions now over, Stoke fans will be hopeful their team begin to concentrate on improving their league position of 14th. Spurs manager Harry Redknapp is likely to be without flying winger Aaron Lennon with a hamstring strain, but on-loan striker Emmanuel Adebayor could return from a hamstring problem of his own.
Defender Michael Dawson is out with a long-term ankle injury, joining midfielder Tom Huddlestone and goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes on the sidelines.
Pulis has no new injury worries, with suspended striker Ricardo Fuller to be Stoke’s only absentee.
