Premier League season heads for familiar climax

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28 Şubat 2009 Cumartesi, 00:00

This has not been a classic Premier League season but the consolation for neutrals was supposed to be an end to the Big Four's stranglehold and at least a couple of heroic survival stories from the newcomers.

With over two thirds of the season gone, a more familiar climax is looming and buoyed by midweek wins in the Champions League, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal can all strengthen their claims for top four places this weekend.

Manchester United faces Tottenham Hotspur in the League Cup final on Sunday and Liverpool, which has not quite given up hope of catching it, has a chance to close to within four points when it plays at Middlesbrough today.

The Reds will certainly be in good heart after seeing off Real Madrid 1-0 at the Bernabeu on Wednesday, although Fernando Torres will be a doubt after he came off with an ankle injury.

" He twisted his ankle in the first half and we were waiting but we could see that he wasn't fully fit and it would be a risk for the next games," coach Rafa Benitez told reporters in Madrid.

Chelsea was also a 1-0 winner at home to Juventus on Wednesday and it will be chasing a third victory from three under new coach Guus Hiddink when it hosts Wigan Athletic, also today.

With apologies to injury-ravaged Everton, fourth-placed Aston Villa is the one remaining hope for a shake-up in the established order.

Arsenal, in fifth, trail Villa by six points but after a 1-0 win over Roma in the Champions League, and with players returning from injury, Arsene Wenger's team should be confident of staying in the hunt when the Gunners host Fulham today.

Villa also has a comfortable looking game at home to Stoke on Sunday.