LONDON, 20 August 2005 — Champions Chelsea and rivals Arsenal will be at full strength for tomorrow’s Premier League showcase game at Stamford Bridge.
Both managers gave a clean bill of health at their news conferences yesterday following the return of players from midweek international football. Chelsea coach Jose Morinho tried to play down the stakes in tomorrow’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,”Morinho 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 tomorrow’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.
Juve Present First Test for
Figo-Inspired Inter
Meantime, a new-look Inter Milan, boosted by the arrival of Luis Figo from Real Madrid, face their first domestic test of the season when they meet champions Juventus in the Italian Supercup today.
The traditional curtain-raiser to the season, which pits the ‘scudetto’ winners against the Cup holders, will be a first real chance for Inter fans to see the impact Figo and other new arrivals have had on their team.
Inter finished third in Serie A last season and in a bid to end their 16 year wait for a league title they have made a series of impressive moves in the transfer market.
As well as Figo, Argentine defender Walter Samuel and his compatriot, left-winger Santiago Solari, have also moved from Real to the San Siro.
