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Rediff.com  » Sports » Arsenal, Chelsea ready for showdown

Arsenal, Chelsea ready for showdown

August 20, 2005 14:26 IST
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Champions Chelsea and rivals Arsenal will be at full strength for Sunday's Premier League showcase game at Stamford Bridge.

Both managers gave a clean bill of health at their news conferences on Friday following the return of players from midweek international football.

Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho tried to play down the stakes in Sunday's meeting, which comes two weeks after his side beat Arsenal 2-1 in the Community Shield in Cardiff.

"Psychologically it looks like more than a game but it's three points, no more than that," Mourinho said at Chelsea's Cobham training ground.

The Portuguese coach also predicted an improvement on Chelsea's below-par display last weekend, when they needed a stoppage-time winner to beat promoted Wigan Athletic 1-0.

"You don't need extra motivation, you don't need to think too much to feel the adrenaline," he said, adding: "To play so badly and to get three points we must be very, very good."

Captain John Terry is back from England's 4-1 friendly defeat by Denmark with a small knock, but trained on Friday and is expected to be fit for Sunday's game.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger told reporters at their London Colney training complex: "We have no injuries from the friendlies, everybody's come back in good shape."

Sol Campbell, who missed England's trip to Denmark with a calf injury, is also available.

"He's fit, he works very hard in training. He now needs three or four games to come back to his best," Wenger said.

Spanish forward Jose Antonio Reyes returns from a one-match suspension following his red card in last season's FA Cup final win over Manchester United.

 

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Source: REUTERS
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