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Live Coverage: Jose Mourinho's weekly Chelsea press conference

Follow Sports Mole's live coverage of Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho's pre-match press conference ahead of his side's match against Arsenal in the Premier League.
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Jose Mourinho has revealed that Diego Costa could return from a hamstring injury in this weekend's match against Arsenal.

Chelsea's top scorer will need a fitness test, along with fellow striker Loic Remy, while Didier Drogba is fit enough to be included.

The manager also spoke about reports linking Eden Hazard with a move away from the club.

Read what else the manager discussed below.


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Good afternoon! Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho is due to speak to the media shortly as he prepares his side for a match against second-placed Arsenal in the Premier League on Sunday.

With Arsenal not playing in the league last weekend, Chelsea were able to open up a 10-point lead over the Gunners in the table, beating Manchester United 1-0. With five matches to go after this fixture, Chelsea would all but secure the title it they win this clash.

Chelsea have been reminiscing about their 3-0 win over Arsenal when they met at the Emirates back in 2009 with this Vine this morning:


Chelsea have a bit of an injury problem up front going into this match, with Diego Costa having missed the last few weeks with a hamstring injury, while Didier Drogba and Loic Remy also have knocks, which could limit their availability for the clash with Arsenal.

Mourinho could also face questions about the club's transfer activities for this summer. The manager is often not too keen to speculate about players been linked with a move to the club, but he may be asked about reports linking Branislav Ivanovic with a switch to Bayern Munich.

Don't forget, we'll be bringing you live coverage of this match on Sunday, as well as the all-important team news, plus post-match reaction, match analysis and player ratings, so make sure you join us again then to see if there is to be a late twist in the title race.

The manager is right on time, strolling into the press centre ready to talk to the media, so let's see what he has to say...

It's a squad fitness update from the manager to start with. He confirms that Drogba is fine, but Remy and Costa will both be decisions for nearer the time.

On the team news, Mourinho adds: "Didier for sure is good. Remy, not for sure. Diego, let's make a decision tomorrow. The reality is we're coping with the difficulties of every match without him. Remy did well for us, Didier did well for us. The team is adapting to playing with those two. We decided not to let Solanke play with the Under-21s in case we need him."

Attention turns to the summer transfer window, and rumours that Eden Hazard would be on his way out. But Mourinho says: "He's just signed a new contract and he had lots of time to think about it. He had family to assist him in his analysis. He likes Chelsea, he likes the team and made a commitment, I don't think he's interested."

On Costa's fitness again, Mourinho adds that if the Spaniard does not play this weekend, he will be good to go against Leicester on Wednesday.

Wenger has never beaten a Mourinho side in 12 attempts, but Mourinho says: "It's no different to when I was in Real with the Atletico manager. I'm not proud, for me an achievement is to win tomorrow, not the other 12 matches we played before."

Sticking with his run against Wenger, Mourinho insists that he doesn't focus on statistics: "I don't look to numbers, I don't look to what I did against this manager or that club. I think my players don't even know about the details. What [the players] care about is how we work all week and the confidence we have."

Chelsea striker Patrick Bamford was named Championship Player of the Year last weekend for his spell on loan with Middlesbrough. Mourinho says: "I think he should be thinking about the next two matches, he can be promoted."

On Cesc Fabregas's return to his former club, Mourinho tells reporters: "If he has some bad reactions he can cope. I know he chose Chelsea, I don't know why he didn't choose Arsenal. Good projects end with titles - Cesc was looking for that."

Striker-issues aside, Mourinho confirms that every other player is his squad is fit for the trip to the Emirates.

On the title race, Mourinho says: "We didn't win this one yet, there are not ifs in football, only yes or no."

That's all from Mourinho this week, so join us again on Sunday to see if Chelsea can extend their unbeaten run, or if Arsenal can close the gap at the top of the table. Until then, thanks for joining me this afternoon. Goodbye.

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3Arsenal1686229151430
4Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest168442119228
5Manchester CityMan City168352823527
6Aston Villa167452425-125
7Bournemouth157352320324
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9Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton166642625124
10Tottenham HotspurSpurs1672736191723
11Brentford167273230223
12Newcastle UnitedNewcastle166552321223
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd166462119222
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham155372028-818
15Crystal Palace163761721-416
16Everton153661421-715
17Leicester CityLeicester163582134-1314
18Ipswich TownIpswich162681628-1212
19Wolverhampton WanderersWolves1623112440-169
20Southampton1612131136-255


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