Mikel plays 100th league game as Newcastle host Chelsea

Mikel Obi




Chelsea‘s defensive midfielder John Obi Mikel, who will make his 100th Premier League start against Newcastle United on Sunday, has laughed off talk of a crisis at the champions and league leaders after three losses in four league games.

”I don‘t know about crisis, there‘s no crisis. We are all still focused, we know there is a long way to go,” the Nigerian told the club website on Friday.

”Coming into the season everyone was saying how good we were beating teams 6-0, but we knew this time would come. You cannot go through the season without having difficult times, but this is where we all come together and support each other and the manager, and we just hope we get back to winning ways.”

The target for the match against Newcastle is not limited to the Nigerian‘s personal ambition. Carlo Ancelotti‘s Chelsea will make Sunderland fans happy for the second time in two weeks if they end their run of poor Premier League form with this game.

After being beaten 3-0 by Sunderland at Stamford Bridge on November 14 in their biggest home loss in nearly nine years, Chelsea are at the Wearsiders‘ bitter local rivals for the game that will say a lot about the title chase.

In spite of the denial by Mikel, analysts have cause to believe that the misfiring West Londoners are going through something of a domestic crisis after losing three of their last four league games. They were also dumped out of the League Cup 4-3 by Newcastle at Stamford Bridge in September. Ancelotti is under pressure and will need no reminding that Newcastle also thrashed Sunderland 5-1 in October, even if they lost by the same scoreline to Bolton Wanderers a week ago.

If Chelsea lose, it will only add fuel to Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp‘s recent assertion that this year‘s championship race looks wide open with the big three no longer as dominant.

”Chelsea are not as good as they were. Man United are not as good as they were. I think we have closed the gap,” he said after Spurs came from two goals down to beat Arsenal 3-2 at the Emirates last Sunday.

After years in the shadow of Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea, English soccer could even be turning back the clock to a distant time when any one of as many as 10 clubs fancied their title chances.

There is a long way to go yet but the evidence so far certainly suggests this could be the most open championship since the Premier League came into being 18 years ago, with Chelsea only six points clear of sixth placed Tottenham.

Sunderland, in seventh place, are in turn only six points clear of Wigan Athletic in the drop zone.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, whose side have already lost three home games this season and were stunned 2-0 by Braga in the Champions League on Tuesday, said this week that every club down to Aston Villa in 13th place had a chance.

Also on Sunday, Spurs host Liverpool, a far cry from their great teams of old, and a victory at White Hart Lane after securing their progress to the last 16 of the Champions League on Wednesday would really lend weight to their challenge.

Tottenham have Jermain Defoe back to full fitness and tipped by Redknapp as a key player in the battle ahead.

”I would love him to get 10 goals in the next 15 games,” said the manager ahead of Spurs clash with Werder Bremen. ”He could push us right into the title race.

”If he could have a run of banging the goals in, he could really take us on a run.”
Source:punchng.com