Jose Mourinho (C) oversees a training session on February 25, 2014. PHOTO | OZAN KOSE
AFP
LONDON
Jose Mourinho refuses
to accept Chelsea are favourites to win the Premier League as the Blues
bid to maintain pole position against struggling Fulham on Saturday.
Mourinho's
team hold a one-point advantage over second-placed Arsenal and, with
third placed Manchester City in League Cup final action against
Sunderland on Sunday, the Blues have an opportunity to pull clear of one
of their main title rivals.
Chelsea will make the
short trip across west London expecting to take all three points, given
Fulham's position at the bottom of the Premier League and Chelsea's
seven-game unbeaten record at Craven Cottage.
But
Mourinho is adamant City, currently three points behind Chelsea, remain
the leading candidates to win the title because they have a game in hand
on the leaders.
"We are top of the table because Man
City have one match in hand. If they win that match, we are not top of
the table," Mourinho said.
Mourinho also believes
Chelsea's hectic schedule, which sees his team back in action just three
days after a gruelling Champions League draw against Galatasaray in
Turkey, could work against them if fatigue starts to take hold. (READ: Lamps backs Torres to fire Chelsea’s bid)
"We
all prefer to play game after game after game, but we all want to play
game after game with conditions to recover, with equal conditions for
every team, and no sense that a team has a privilege in the choices, and
every team in the same country has the same privilege to be a little
bit protected in relation to European matches," Mourinho said.
"It
makes the players' job difficult, not my job. I can play a match every
day, it is not a problem for me or the people who make the fixtures. I
don't run, they don't run. It's difficult for the players."
If
the leaders suffer a shock slip against Felix Magath's team, Arsenal
will hope to capitalise by regaining top spot with a rare victory at
Stoke.
Arsene Wenger's side have won only one of their
last five visits to the Britannia Stadium and the fixture has often
proved especially bruising for the sometimes fragile Gunners.
WENGER HAPPY TO SEE PLAYERS REFRESHED
Wenger
was forced to defend himself against criticism of his decision to give
Arsenal's players two days off this week, and the French coach admitted
he has yet to decide whether to recall Germany midfielder Mesut Ozil,
who missed last weekend's win over Sunderland with a hip injury and has
struggled to reach top form of late.
"He (Ozil) had a difficult game because he missed that penalty, and it was on his mind," Wenger said.
"Sometimes when you're under this kind of pressure it's good to refresh.
"My opportunity is just to put the best team out who can win the game, it's not about individuals, it's about the team."
Fourth-placed
Liverpool head to Southampton looking to maintain their grip on the
final Champions League berth and keep in touch with Chelsea.
Brendan Rodgers' team sit just four points behind the leaders having emerged as surprise title contenders.
The
Reds' positive mood was threatened this week following Rodgers'
decision to haul off Denmark defender Daniel Agger just over an hour in
last weekend's 4-3 win over Swansea.
Agger had been well below his best, prompting speculation that he might be sold in the close-season.
But, in a bid to show his support for Agger, Rodgers confirmed 48 hours before kick-off that the Dane would start at St Mary's.
"There
has been a lot of spotlight, unfairly, on Daniel this week. What
happened to Daniel was no different to what happened to any player,"
Rodgers said.
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