Chelsea manager Antonio Conte hopes his side can benefit from any lessening of intensity in Liverpool’s play after their Champions League semifinal triumph when they face the Reds in the Premier League on Sunday.
Liverpool lost 4-2 to Roma at the Stadio Olimpico on Wednesday but still went through 7-6 on aggregate as they booked their place in a final against holders Real Madrid.
Chelsea are in pursuit of a Champions League spot for next season — they are six points behind third-placed Liverpool with a game in hand heading into this weekend’s clash at Stamford Bridge.
“This could be a good opportunity for us,” Conte said.
“As I said a lot of times in the last three games, if we want to keep the hope alive we have to win. We have to get three points.
“Liverpool are a good team. It won’t be easy, but if we want to keep alive the hope, we have to try to win, to get three points on Sunday.”
Tottenham sit fourth, five points clear of Chelsea, but with Spurs still to play games against West Brom, Newcastle and Leicester, it is Liverpool in Conte’s sights.
The Merseysiders could be denied Champions League football next season by a combination of finishing outside the top four and losing to Real in the final.
If Conte’s deposed champions win their remaining three fixtures they will, at worst, finish level on points with Jurgen Klopp’s side, although Liverpool’s far superior goal difference means just a point on Sunday or victory against Brighton on the final day of the season should suffice.
Meanwhile Conte, who expects to have a fully fit squad for the match at Stamford Bridge, refused to comment about Manchester United forward Anthony Martial, amid reports the striker wants to leave Old Trafford.
“I think this is not the right moment to speak about this. I don’t like to talk about players of other teams,” said Conte.
“It’s disrespectful for the other players, for my players, for the other clubs.”
The Italian added: “I think now our target, our focus is to finish in the best possible way, to try to fight for a place in the Champions League. It won’t be easy. The situation is not in our hands.
“But we have to try and start with three points against Liverpool. Then we’ll see what happens.
“We have another final in the FA Cup. For sure we want to give satisfaction to our fans. It won’t be easy against Manchester United, but we want to try to do our best until the end.”
Antonio Conte hopes for lackluster Liverpool in Stamford Bridge battle
Antonio Conte hopes for lackluster Liverpool in Stamford Bridge battle
- Chelsea need points in push for top-four spot.
- Liverpool just back from Rome after Champions League heroics.
India captain says will travel for Pakistan clash despite boycott
- Pakistan have announced they will boycott their match against India on Feb. 15 in Sri Lanka
- India need to be at the stadium on Feb. 15 to ensure they are awarded two points for match
MUMBAI: India captain Suryakumar Yadav said Thursday that his team would show up in Colombo for their T20 World Cup clash against Pakistan, despite their Group A opponents and arch-rivals boycotting the match.
“We haven’t said no to playing them (Pakistan),” Yadav told reporters at Mumbai’s Wankhede stadium, where India will begin their campaign against the United States on Saturday’s opening day.
“They are the ones who have said no. Our flights are booked and we are going to Colombo.”
India need to be at the stadium and ready to take the field for the February 15 match in order to make sure of being awarded the two points for a match forfeit.
The tournament, co-hosted by Sri Lanka and India, has been overshadowed by weeks of political posturing in the build-up.
Bangladesh were kicked out for refusing to play in India and Pakistan’s government then told its team not to show up at the clash of the arch-rivals as a show of support for Bangladesh.
Pakistan and India have not played bilateral cricket for more than a decade, and meet only in global or regional tournaments events.
India start the T20 World Cup on home soil with a great chance of retaining the title they won two years ago and Yadav agreed they were the side to beat.
“The way we have been playing, it looks like we are the favorites,” he smiled.
If that seemed like an overconfident statement, the India captain was quick to caution: “There are 19 (other) good teams in the tournament, though.
“On a given day, when you play, you have to bring your A-game and play good cricket.”
India know that their opening opponents, the United States, caused the biggest upset of the 2024 tournament when they beat Pakistan in a super over.
Yadav said no team would be taken lightly.
“I’m sure every game will be very important,” he said.
