EPL

Pochettino urges Chelsea players to have more self-belief

By Sports Desk April 26, 2024

Mauricio Pochettino has reminded his team to respect themselves as they prepare for another tough game against Aston Villa on Saturday.

After being knocked out of the FA Cup by Manchester City last Saturday, the Blues were thrashed 5-0 by title-chasing Arsenal in midweek for their 11th defeat of the season.

Chelsea still have an outside chance of finishing in the top seven as they sit just three points behind Newcastle United with two games in hand.

Asked if his side are capable of putting the disappointment of their last two results behind them, Pochettino said: “Lack of belief, in the circumstances, sometimes happens.

“We tried to realise how we need to behave when the game is tough when the demands are so high. We need to try and be more strong and to trust in the way that we play, in our philosophy, in the way we prepare the games.

“We need to be positive, and we need to be strong and believe tomorrow we can have a good game, good attitude, good approach. We are going to compete again with another team, fighting for the top. We need to think we are Chelsea and respect ourselves."

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  • Arteta: Arsenal must 'earn the right' to beat Fulham Arteta: Arsenal must 'earn the right' to beat Fulham

    Mikel Arteta insists Arsenal must "earn the right" to beat Fulham in the Premier League London derby at Craven Cottage.

    The Gunners, who are third in the table and only behind Chelsea on goal difference, have momentum following their 2-0 victory over Manchester United on Wednesday, stretching their winning streak across all competitions to four matches.

    Arsenal have bounced back brilliantly after a run of three matches without victory, though they were beaten 2-1 by Fulham in this fixture last season.

    And Arteta is wary of the Cottagers as a result.

    "We want to have the right to win games," the Spaniard said following the win over United. "If we perform the way we perform right now, we are going to win a lot of games.

    "But now, it is about Fulham, we have to go there, and we know the experience of last season.

    "We're going to have to prepare really well to earn the right to win there and continue to do that. The rest, we don't know.

    "The will to win is there. We have won four in a row, but it doesn't matter. We have to go to Fulham now and be better than them to try to win the game.

    "It's a crazy schedule, we're going to need everybody and, mentally, be very strong because you're going to have to go through those moments."

    Fulham returned to winning ways on Thursday with a 3-1 victory over Brighton lifting them to sixth place.

    Alex Iwobi scored a brace against the Seagulls - only his second double in 267 Premier League appearances - and the former Arsenal midfielder highlighted his desire to get on the scoresheet more often, ahead of facing his former club.

    "We wanted to get a win on the board [against Brighton] after our last game against Spurs [1-1 draw]," he said. "[There is] no better place to do it than at our place.

    "I should be getting more goals, but it was good to get them for the team.

    "We see the ability [of the team] in training. This performance [against Brighton] gives us a boost going into Arsenal, who are on a good run at the moment."

    PLAYERS TO WATCH

    Fulham - Harry Wilson

    The Wales international netted just once in his first 21 Premier League London derby appearances for Fulham.

    However, he has scored three goals in his last three such matches, and he is one the Gunners have to keep an eye on.

    Arsenal - Bukayo Saka

    Saka has been involved in 14 goals in his last 14 London derby matches in the Premier League (seven goals, seven assists).

    The England international's tally of 17 assists in such games is beaten only by Cesc Fabregas (24), Dennis Bergkamp (23) and Frank Lampard (18).

    MATCH PREDICTION: ARSENAL WIN

    Since losing 2-1 to Fulham in the corresponding match last season, Arsenal have won seven of their last eight Premier League London derbies.

    After netting five times at West Ham last weekend, the Gunners have scored five or more goals in five different away matches in all competitions in 2024. They are aiming to become the first English top-flight side to do so six times in a single calendar year.

    Arsenal have also found the net in each of their last 18 Premier League showdowns with Fulham, stretching back to a goalless draw in February 2009.

    However, Fulham are unbeaten in their last eight league London derbies (W4 D4), their longest such run since a run of nine between February 2000 and September 2001, a streak that was ended by a 3-1 home loss to Arsenal.

    Fulham boss Marco Silva has won four of his 10 previous meetings with Arsenal across all competitions (D1 L5) with each victory coming with a different team (Olympiakos, Watford, Everton, Fulham) – he could win back-to-back games against the Gunners for the first time.

    OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

    Fulham - 18.5%
    Arsenal - 61.3%
    Draw - 20.2%

  • Tottenham shot themselves in the foot, says Postecoglou after Bournemouth loss Tottenham shot themselves in the foot, says Postecoglou after Bournemouth loss

    Ange Postecoglou claimed Tottenham were masters of their own downfall in their 1-0 defeat at Bournemouth in the Premier League. 

    Dean Huijsen headed home the only goal of the game from a corner in the 17th minute to inflict a sixth defeat of the season on Postecoglou's Spurs, who ended with an xG of only 0.58 despite having more than 65% possession. 

    Indeed, Bournemouth had 21 shots and saw two goals disallowed for offside, albeit Spurs also had a would-be equaliser ruled out when Son Heung-min was flagged. 

    But after his team followed up a disappointing home draw against Fulham with a toothless display on the south coast, Postecoglou did not hide his frustration.

    "It is not good enough. We again fell into the trap of starting the game really well, we were in control, and then we conceded a really poor goal," Postecoglou told Amazon Prime, after a defeat that pushed Tottenham into 10th place with 20 points from 14 games. 

    "Then we kind of lost our way a little bit and allowed Bournemouth to play the game that they wanted to. We had our moments in the second half, but we could not get a goal.

    "I don't know if they had more urgency, but we have this sort of propensity to shoot ourselves in the foot when we should be controlling games."

    Bournemouth, meanwhile, climbed into the top half of the table with their fourth win in five matches at the Vitality Stadium.

    "Bournemouth are hard to beat here and what you should not do is give them a goal that gives them the momentum they need," the Tottenham head coach said. 

    Spurs will next face second-placed Chelsea, who are unbeaten in their last six league games, at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday.

    "They are all big games coming up. We have to get ourselves out of the space we are in at the minute where we can't get a real grip on the season," Postecoglou said. 

    Meanwhile, Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola was full of praise for 19-year-old Huijsen, who had made his third league start of the season in place of Marcos Senesi. 

    "He was very, very good defensively and he got the goal. Obviously, we can use his height in the set plays. He is confident on the ball too. He is good news for us," said the Spanish tactician. 

    "He needs and is demanding opportunities and I think he will get them more now. Marco [Senesi] is injured, so he will get the chance more and more. It is good for us that he has found the level."

    Huijsen became Bournemouth’s youngest-ever goalscorer in the Premier League at 19 years and 235 days and the third-youngest Spaniard, after Cesc Fabregas and Stefan Bajcetic.

    "Our defensive performance was most pleasing. We did not give them many chances at all. Everyone defensively was very good," Iraola said.

    "Luckily we finished the job, but there were moments when we thought that if we did not kill them they would punish us," he added. 

    Bournemouth are next in action against Ipswich Town at Portman Road on Sunday.

  • Bournemouth 1-0 Tottenham: Huijsen downs sorry Spurs Bournemouth 1-0 Tottenham: Huijsen downs sorry Spurs

    Bournemouth moved into the top half of the Premier League with a 1-0 win over Tottenham at the Vitality Stadium.

    Dean Huijsen scored the decisive goal in the 17th minute when the Spurs defence allowed the 19-year-old defender to head in unmarked from a Marcus Tavernier corner.

    The hosts had the chance to put the game to bed in the second half as Ryan Christie was denied by the woodwork and an Evanilson goal was disallowed for offside following a VAR review.

    Tottenham were unable to make meaningful inroads throughout the first half and despite their performance picking up after the break, the visitors failed to find a way back and fell to their sixth league defeat of the season.

    Bournemouth leapfrogged their opponents into ninth place on 21 points, while Tottenham dropped to 10th, one point behind the Cherries.

    Data Debrief: Home comforts for Bournemouth

    Andoni Iraola's Bournemouth have now won four of their last five games at their home ground. What makes their home form even more impressive is the fact that they have beaten Arsenal 2-0 and champions Manchester City 2-1 during that run. 

    On Thursday, the Cherries attempted 21 shots, which was their highest total in a league match this season.

    They only scored one, but it proved decisive. Huijsen became Bournemouth’s youngest-ever goalscorer in the Premier League at 19 years and 235 days and the third-youngest Spaniard, after Cesc Fabregas and Stefan Bajcetic.

    Meanwhile, Spurs have now lost seven of their last 11 away games in the league (W3 D1), as Ange Postecoglou's team, who had a goal disallowed for offside in the second half, failed to show anywhere close to their best form.

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