Chelsea primed to steal a march on title rivals

Saturday West Brom vs Man United 2:45pm Cardiff City vs Fulham 5pm Crystal Palace vs Southampton Norwich City vs Stoke City Chelsea vs Tottenham 7:30pm LONDON - Chelsea have a gilt-edged opportunity to open up a seven-point lead at the top of the Premier League this weekend and there is nothing their main title rivals can do about it. With second-placed Liverpool having a week off and Arsenal and Manchester City in FA Cup action, all the chasers can do is hope Tottenham Hotspur can end one of the longest jinx’s in English football and upset the odds at Stamford Bridge. Twenty four years have passed and 15 managers have come and gone at the north London club since Tottenham last won at Chelsea - a miserable sequence that even the most optimistic Spurs fans would struggle to believe will end on Saturday. Chelsea are gaining momentum in ominous fashion as the home straight to the title race looms and while Manchester City will have three games in hand after the weekend, a nine-point deficit to Jose Mourinho’s side would leave them precious little margin for error. Perhaps a glimmer of optimism for Liverpool’s Brendan Rodgers, Arsenal’s Arsene Wenger and City’s Manuel Pellegrini is that Tottenham have the best away record in the top flight and are still harbouring top-four hopes themselves. Despite not playing fluently, they are fifth and victory at Chelsea would leave them just a point behind City and three adrift of arch-rivals Arsenal who they host next week. Tim Sherwood’s side have picked up 29 points on the road this season, winning nine games out of 14. Chelsea have been strong at home, though, winning 12 and drawing two as Mourinho’s incredible statistic of never having lost a league game at Stamford Bridge rolls on. Wing wizard Eden Hazard looks like being fit for the London derby after injuring his ankle in midweek. The Belgian international was hurt after coming on as a second-half substitute in the 2-2 draw with Ivory Coast in a friendly in Brussels on Wednesday. Champions Manchester United have the chance to edge a little closer to the top four with a Saturday lunchtime kickoff at West Bromwich Albion who earlier in the season won at Old Trafford for the time in 35 years. Albion fans mocked United manager David Moyes that day, suggesting he would be “sacked in the morning” but it was their manager Steve Clarke who was cast aside and West Brom are now hovering just above the relegation zone with new boss Pepe Mel under pressure. REMOTE HOPES Defeat for United would surely end their remote hopes of finishing in the Champions League places, leaving their best route back into the competition to win it, although with a 2-0 deficit to overturn against Olympiakos in the last 16 that scenario looks unlikely too. Midfielder Juan Mata said March could be a make or break month for United. “We have five Premier League games against important rivals such as Liverpool and Man City,” he told United’s website. The weekend’s other matches all involve teams battling to avoid the drop. The bottom two clubs meet with Cardiff City hosting Fulham in a match where for once the description “a six-pointer” is not out of place. Defeat for either in the Welsh capital would see the trapdoor open a little wider. Crystal Palace, three points above the bottom three in 16th place, host Southampton, probably the only side in the top flight to have little to play for this season, they being well clear of danger and too far adrift of the European spots. Norwich City, who are just a point better off than Palace, take on a Stoke City side who could move into the relative comfort of 10th with three points.