Chelsea eager to halt slide

Critics had tipped Chelsea to halt their slide but the Blues’ struggles continued as they have relinquished top spot in the standings to rivals Manchester United.

While Chelsea dropped two points in a 1-1 draw with Newcastle, Manchester United hit poor Blackburn for seven at Old Trafford to move two points clear of Chelsea.

The Londoners have taken just four points from their last five games, losing at Liverpool, Birmingham and at home to Sunderland.

Chelsea have been plagued by injuries but the loss of Frank Lampard, who had been scoring regularly (almost one goal every two matches) was a severe setback for them.

Good news for the Blues fans is that captain John Terry and Lampard have started training and could be considered for the home match against Everton this afternoon. Ghana midfielder Michael Essien returns to the side after serving his three-match ban.

Everton are also in a mess after crashing 4-1 to West Brom at Goodison Park. In their last five Premier League matches, the Toffees collected only three draws.

Manchester United striker Dimitar Berbatov regained his scoring touch as his five goals against Blackburn took him top of the scorers’ list with 11 nettings.

The 7-1 win also saw United set a club record of 15 league games unbeaten from the start of the season, eclipsing Ron Atkinson’s side in 1985-86. The Red Devils’ match at Blackpool was called off yesterday.

United manager Alex Ferguson was irate at his side’s defending in the 4-0 rout to West Ham in the League Cup quarter-final.

If Arsenal show more consistency, they can emerge as serious challengers for the league crown. The Gunners have reached the semi-finals of the League Cup.

Arsenal are level with Chelsea on 29 points, two adrift of Manchester United. Today they entertain Fulham in a London derby, having lost twice against the Cottagers and won once.

Last week, Fulham were involved in their ninth draw of the campaign, at home to Birmingham.

Protect Balotelli

Fourth-placed Manchester City, who host Bolton this afternoon, must win their home matches if they are to keep the pace with the front-runners. City have drawn three and lost once at Eastlands.

Manager Roberto Mancini called on the referees to do their job well and protect Mario Balotelli. The Italian striker scored twice against Salzburg on Wednesday to seal City’s passage to the knock-out stage of the Europa League.

On Monday, Liverpool will renew acquaintance with former boss Gerard Houllier when they entertain Aston Villa at Anfield.

The Reds can consider themselves unlucky to have lost three points at Tottenham last Sunday.

The Villans have won only once in their last six league games. In midweek, they lost 2-1 to rivals Birmingham in the League Cup.

Tottenham travel to Birmingham. Manager Harry Redknapp is likely to be without defender Younes Kaboul and Rafael van der Vaart who are sidelined with injuries.

Birmingham have lost once in seven Premier League matches.

West Brom manager Roberto di Matteo was delighted that his players put their poor showings behind them as they won 4-1 at Everton.

Tomorrow the Baggies, who lost 1-0 to Ipswich in the League Cup, host Newcastle. The Toon also produced a good performance in the 1-1 home draw against Chelsea.

Tomorrow, at the Stadium of Light, Sunderland will vie to stretch their home record when they take on West Ham. The Hammers are still at rock bottom despite their victory over Wigan last weekend.

Blackburn will be keen to atone for their dismal showing at Old Trafford last week when they host Wolves at Ewood Park.

Mick McCarthy’s men will be no pushovers for the Rovers as last week they came from behind to beat Sunderland 3-2 at the Molineux.

Stoke, who have won three of their last four Premier League matches, hope to extend their positive streak against Wigan at the DW Stadium. In the only four Premier League meetings between the duo, Stoke won once and the remaining matches ended in a draw.

Meanwhile, the cold snap in the UK has disrupted the weekend’s programme as several matches, particularly in Scotland, have been postponed.

Fixtures and forecast

Premier League
Arsenal-Fulham - 1
Birmingham-Tottenham - X
Blackburn-Wolves - X
Blackpool-Man. Utd (18.30) - pp
Chelsea-Everton - 1
Man. City-Bolton - 1
Wigan-Stoke - X

Tomorrow:
Sunderland-West Ham (17.00) - 1
West Brom-Newcastle (14.30) - 1

Monday:
Liverpool-Aston Villa (21.00) - 1

Standings: Manchester United 31 points; Chelsea, Arsenal 29; Man. City 26; Tottenham 25; Bolton 23; Sunderland, Stoke 20; Newcastle, Liverpool, Blackpool, West Brom 19; Blackburn 18; Birmingham, Aston Villa 17; Everton 16; Fulham 15; Wigan 14; Wolves, West Ham 12.

The Championship
Cardiff-Preston - 1
Coventry-Middlesbrough - 1
Derby-Norwich - 1
Doncaster-Barnsley - pp
Hull-QPR - pp
Ipswich-Swansea (13.45) - X
Leeds-Crystal Palace - 1
Millwall-Scunthorpe (18.20) - 1
Nott’m Forest-Bristol City - pp
Portsmouth-Burnley - pp
Sheff. Utd-Reading - pp
Watford-Leicester - X

League One
Brentford-Notts County - pp
Brighton-Colchester - pp
Bristol Rovers-Bournemouth - X
Dagenham-Huddersfield - pp
Exeter-Tranmere - 1
Hartlepool-Southampton - pp
Leyton Orient-Carlisle - pp
MK Dons-Plymouth - pp
Rochdale-Charlton - pp
Swindon-Sheff. Wed. - 2
Walsall-Oldham - pp
Yeovil-Peterborough - pp

League Two
Accrington-Shrewsbury - pp
Aldershot-Bradford - pp
Bury-Chesterfield - pp
Cheltenham-Lincoln City - pp
Crewe-Wycombe - pp
Gillingham-Rotherham - pp
Hereford-Morecambe - pp
Northampton-Stockport - 1
Oxford Utd-Barnet - 1
Port Vale-Stevenage - pp
Southend-Macclesfield - pp
Torquay-Burton Albion - 1

Hot Four
Arsenal, Chelsea, Cardiff City and Millwall.

Note: Several matches in England and Scotland have been postponed due to heavy snowfall.