Chris Maduewesi
Member
It is another Premier League weekend and a lot of thrills and frills are on the horizon for the swooning fans.
Without an iota of doubt,the star match for this weekend will be the tie at the Etihad Stadium where Manchester City will play host to Chelsea on Sunday.
We have assembled quotes from the top managers and what they think about their games this weekend.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger realises that they face a difficult task away at Aston Villa and called on fans to be patient with them.
"It's a significant weekend. Not decisive but an important one. We want to respond after a disappointing performance [losing 2-0 in Dortmund].
"We failed in some big games and conceded too many goals but we have to find the balance in the team."
"The criticism is unfair because it's post-World Cup. It takes a few months for them to get back to their best. Why should he be a scapegoat? For what? We've lost one game since 1 April. Let's be realistic.
"Fans need to be patient. You want your best players in every game but you have to be united and go through hard periods."
Jose Mourinho whose Chelsea team plays Manchester City downplayed the importance of their game against the Premier League champions:
"It's one more game and three more points but when matches are between title contenders, every point makes a difference.
"We know what it's like to win there and lose there. I watched last season's games to identify the differences."
"Everybody is ready to play, Diego [Costa] is not in the best condition but he will start. If he plays he won't play against Bolton. [in the League Cup on Wednesday]."
"I don't want to compare squads but ours is better than it was last season, we have more solutions. We have a good balance. It's always a good time to play against big teams because it makes m yjob easy.
"We respect City totally because they deserve it, but we believe in ourselves. The perfect situation is to score a lot of goals and not concede, and we have to chase that perfection."
Manuel Pellegrini had a spat with Mourinho last season but is not anticipating such bust-up again:
"It's nothing important," he said. "In this profession we manage different ways. Nothing more."
Cheery news for Liverpool with manager Brendan Rodgers confirming that Daniel Sturridge is nearing full fitness and likely to return to training next week.
"Daniel is doing well and is out on the field doing some work," Rodgers told the Liverpool Echo.
While inevitably Louis Van Gaal was busy answering questions about the prospects of signing Cristaino Ronaldo.
"Yes, but it's always a discussion in the papers, and I don't think the media shall buy Ronaldo."
"That's what I have said with Falcao. Players like Ronaldo give a lot of extra to a team, but I don't think Real Madrid shall sell him."
Fixtures this weekend:
QPR v Stoke 12:45
Aston Villa v Arsenal 15:00
Burnley v Sunderland 15:00
Newcastle v Hull 15:00
Swansea v Southampton 15:00
West Ham v Liverpool 17:30
Sunday 21 September 2014
Leicester v Man Utd 13:30
Tottenham v West Brom 13:30
Everton v Crystal Palace 16:00
Man City v Chelsea
Without an iota of doubt,the star match for this weekend will be the tie at the Etihad Stadium where Manchester City will play host to Chelsea on Sunday.
We have assembled quotes from the top managers and what they think about their games this weekend.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger realises that they face a difficult task away at Aston Villa and called on fans to be patient with them.
"It's a significant weekend. Not decisive but an important one. We want to respond after a disappointing performance [losing 2-0 in Dortmund].
"We failed in some big games and conceded too many goals but we have to find the balance in the team."
"The criticism is unfair because it's post-World Cup. It takes a few months for them to get back to their best. Why should he be a scapegoat? For what? We've lost one game since 1 April. Let's be realistic.
"Fans need to be patient. You want your best players in every game but you have to be united and go through hard periods."
Jose Mourinho whose Chelsea team plays Manchester City downplayed the importance of their game against the Premier League champions:
"It's one more game and three more points but when matches are between title contenders, every point makes a difference.
"We know what it's like to win there and lose there. I watched last season's games to identify the differences."
"Everybody is ready to play, Diego [Costa] is not in the best condition but he will start. If he plays he won't play against Bolton. [in the League Cup on Wednesday]."
"I don't want to compare squads but ours is better than it was last season, we have more solutions. We have a good balance. It's always a good time to play against big teams because it makes m yjob easy.
"We respect City totally because they deserve it, but we believe in ourselves. The perfect situation is to score a lot of goals and not concede, and we have to chase that perfection."
Manuel Pellegrini had a spat with Mourinho last season but is not anticipating such bust-up again:
"It's nothing important," he said. "In this profession we manage different ways. Nothing more."
Cheery news for Liverpool with manager Brendan Rodgers confirming that Daniel Sturridge is nearing full fitness and likely to return to training next week.
"Daniel is doing well and is out on the field doing some work," Rodgers told the Liverpool Echo.
While inevitably Louis Van Gaal was busy answering questions about the prospects of signing Cristaino Ronaldo.
"Yes, but it's always a discussion in the papers, and I don't think the media shall buy Ronaldo."
"That's what I have said with Falcao. Players like Ronaldo give a lot of extra to a team, but I don't think Real Madrid shall sell him."
Fixtures this weekend:
QPR v Stoke 12:45
Aston Villa v Arsenal 15:00
Burnley v Sunderland 15:00
Newcastle v Hull 15:00
Swansea v Southampton 15:00
West Ham v Liverpool 17:30
Sunday 21 September 2014
Leicester v Man Utd 13:30
Tottenham v West Brom 13:30
Everton v Crystal Palace 16:00
Man City v Chelsea