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The BBC have confirmed that they will show highlights of tonight’s match between Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur in a special Match Of The Day broadcast after the game has finished.

Spurs head to Stamford Bridge needing three points if they are to have any hope of catching Leicester at the top of the table. Chelsea, meanwhile, will be hoping that their poor season will at least have a small silver lining in the shape of ending their London rivals’ bid for the title.

Before this weekend’s rounds of fixtures began Leicester needed three points from their remaining three games in order to win the Premier League title. Their draw with Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday means that that has been reduced to two points from their last two matches against Everton and Chelsea.

Spurs, however, are eight points behind the Foxes with a game in hand. That means that they need to win all three of the games that they still have to play and hope that Leicester drop more points in their last two fixtures. That means that anything less than a win for Spurs at Stamford Bridge will hand the title to Leicester City this evening.

The defending Premier League champions, Chelsea, have endured a torrid season. Their former manager Jose Mourinho was sacked in December, with the self-proclaimed ‘Special One’ having led the Blues to their worst start to a top-flight campaign since the 1960s. Tonight’s match represents their best chance of some slight success, with the chance to deny Tottenham of the title as close to silverware as they’ll be able to get this season.

The special broadcast of Match Of The Day will be on BBC One at 22.55 this evening and the game will also be commentated on by the BBC’s 5 live team. Football fans across England have been caught up in the romance of Leicester City’s season, having seen the Foxes go from seven points from safety last Easter to leading the race for the title for most of this season.

Chelsea Football Club have recalled two youngsters that have spent this season playing for Championship side Reading.

Michael Hector and Lucas Piazon were due to stay with the Royals for another week but their parent club has decided to bring them back to Stamford Bridge before that, presumably to use them as part of the squad in the closing stages of the campaign. The Blues face Spurs this weekend in the London derby before travelling to Sunderland and Liverpool and then hosting Leicester on the final day of the season.

23-year-old Hector, who was born in Jamaica, was signed on deadline day back in September. As part of the £4 million deal for the defender the West Londoners agreed to loan him back to Reading for the remainder of the season.

Piazon, meanwhile, has been quietly impressive for the Royals, with the Brazilian midfielder having scored five goals in all competitions since heading to The Madjeski Stadium on a season-long loan last year.

Chelsea winger Eden Hazard says that all of the West London club’s players are behind Leicester’s bid for the title as none of them want Tottenham Hotspur, their London rivals, to win the Premier League.

Spurs are currently eight points off Leicester and have four games left to play, meaning that they need to win all of their remaining fixtures and hope that the Foxes drop points in the run in. Leicester’s 4-0 win over Swansea City at The King Power Stadium this weekend means that they only have three games left to play, giving Spurs a game in hand.

The defending Premier League champions could yet have a big say in the destiny of the trophy they have been the custodians of for the last year. The London derby is scheduled to take place at Stamford Bridge on May the 2nd, whilst Leicester are heading there on the final day of the season.

Speaking to the BBC’s Match Of The Day, Hazard said, “The fans, the club, the players, we don’t want Tottenham to win the Premier League. We hope for Leicester because they deserve to be champions this season. We have a good game next week against Tottenham and if we can beat them it will be good”.

The 25-year-old was named as the Player Of The Year for 2015 but he has failed to hit the same heights during this campaign. He did score a brace against Bournemouth at the weekend, but they were the first league goals he’s managed this season.

Hazard’s team-mate, Cesc Fabregas, confirmed the Belgian’s opinion that the rest of the Chelsea team are right behind Leicester’s title bid. Fabregas has additional history to his rivalry with Spurs, having played for their North London rivals Arsenal for eight years from 2003 until 2011.

Speaking to Sky Sports the Spanish international said he thinks the game against Chelsea and Leicester on the last day of the season will be something of a dead rubber. He said, “I believe they’ll have it wrapped up by then. Spurs are pushing hard to get as close to them as possible but I think Leicester will win it and deservedly. I don’t want Spurs to win it and, for what they’ve done through the season, I would love Leicester to win the Premier League”.

The Match Of The Day pundits who were present in the studio after the interview with Hazard aired were torn about the value of the Belgian’s comments. Martin Keown, who used to play for Spurs and Chelsea’s London rivals Arsenal, believes that the comments will give Tottenham’s players extra motivation heading into the game against them. He said, “The Tottenham players are probably listening to that right now and it’s goading them”.

Fellow pundit and former Newcastle player Shola Ameobi agreed with Keown, saying, “It’s been a tough year for Hazard, so for him to come out with a comment like that is unbelievable really. Surely he should be focussing on what he can do for Chelsea”.

But former Spurs player Jermaine Jenas defended the Chelsea player and said, “What do you expect Hazard to say? He’s not going to say he wants Spurs to win now is he? It’s what everyone knows; there is that obvious rivalry between Chelsea and Spurs. But if Spurs keep doing what they’re doing now I don’t give Chelsea much of a chance in that game anyway”.

Tottenham play West Brom tonight before visiting Stamford Bridge next weekend, the day after Leicester travel to Old Trafford to face Manchester United. Leicester then host Everton at The King Power on the 7th of May before Southampton play Spurs at White Hart Lane on the 8th. Leicester then face Chelsea at the Bridge on the final day of the season, with Spurs heading to relegation strugglers Newcastle United at the same time.

Spanish international Cesc Fabregas has said that the Chelsea players are to blame for Jose Mourinho’s exit from the club in December.

Mourinho was in his second spell at the club, having previously managed the Blues from 2004-2007. During his first three years in charge the self-proclaimed ‘Special One’ led the club to two Premier League titles, an FA Cup victory, two League Cup wins and a Community Shield trophy. In the second season of his second time in charge at Stamford Bridge he led Chelsea to a Premier League and League Cup double.

Things did not carry on as they had left off for the 53-year-old, however, with the club enduring their worst spell to a top-flight campaign since the 1960s this season. It led the club’s owner, Roman Abramovich, to sack Mourinho for a second time in December last year. Guys Hiddink came in to replace the Portuguese on an interim basis, with Antonio Conte confirmed as Chelsea’s next full-time head coach earlier this year.

Though the Blues are now tenth in the Premier League they were just one point above the relegation zone when Mourinho was sacked and Fabregas felt as though the players ‘let him down’. Speaking to Monday Night Football on Sky Sports, the 28-year-old said, “I have huge respect for him. The biggest problem was he trusted us too much, gave us more holiday because we were champions and we let him down. That was the main reason he had to go – and for that, myself and the team feel bad”.

It is a sentiment the Chelsea fans are largely in agreement with, with numerous supporters taking the opportunity of the club’s first game without Mourinho to let players like Diego Costa and Eden Hazard know what they thought about them. Some fans booed the players and held up banners and signs saying they let Mourinho and the club down.

Hiddink won the FA Cup when he came in as Chelsea manager on an interim basis in 2009, replacing the sacked Luis Felipe Scolari, but he saw his side knocked out of the same competition at the quarter-final stage by Everton in March. It means that Chelsea have nothing to play for in the remaining weeks of the season for the first time since 2008.

Chelsea’s interim manager, Guus Hiddink, believes that not everything will be rosy for the club’s incoming manager, Antonio Conte, when he arrives at the club after he’s led Italy to this summer’s European Championship contest in France.

Chelsea have been looking for a new manager since the club sacked Jose Mourinho for the second time in December. The self-proclaimed ‘Special One’ won the title with the Blues in the second season of his second spell with the club, but things went wrong this season and Chelsea endured their worst start to a top-flight campaign since the 1960s. Hiddink was brought in on an interim basis, much as he was when Luis Felipe Scolari was sacked in 2009.

In his first interim spell at the club the Dutchman led the Blues to an FA Cup win, but this year they were knocked out of the competition by Everton at the quarter-final stage. They are currently marooned in 10th place in the Premier League, an incredible 28 points off the league leaders Leicester City. They are closer to the relegation zone as they are only 14 points clear of Sunderland in 18th.

Whilst the club’s owner, Roman Abramovich, is confident he’s got the right man to replace Mourinho in the long-term, Hiddink has warned the Italian that there will be no guarantees next season as the defending Premier League champions will do battle in an even more competitive league. He said, “The clubs will have more money to spend next year, which means the league will be even more competitive, which is very nice for everyone, except for those who have been used to being at the top for many years. We’re used to fighting for something and nothing is at stake at this moment. That’s strange”.

Hiddink said it seemed odd for the Blues to have nothing to play for in the closing stages of the season. Chelsea are used to competing for silverware all the way up until the end of the campaign and the fact that there is nothing for them to win, with even the top four now out of reach for them. He said the remainder of the season feels ‘a little bit empty’ and that the club’s poor performance could take its toll, with Conte having ‘no guarantees’ of success next season.

Guus Hiddink, Chelsea’s interim manager, has said that Eden Hazard is in a ‘dark place’ after his poor showing so far this season.

The 25-year-old Belgian attacking midfielder was the PFA’s Players’ Player Of The Year after last year’s campaign, when his goals and all-round play helped Chelsea win the Premier League title at a canter. His poor performances this time out has led some Chelsea fans to be critical of him, however, with many feeling he was a large part of the reason that Jose Mourinho was sacked in December.

The self-proclaimed ‘Special One’ was sacked for the second time by the West London club’s owner, Roman Abramovich, after leading Chelsea to their worst start to a top-flight campaign since the 1960s. The fact that Hazard has yet to register a goal for the club this season is seen by many fans of the club as a large contributing factor to the Portuguese manager’s sacking.

Hiddink said, “Last year everything was beautiful and this year everything is, for him, dark. The contrast is huge. He was the number one and now he’s at the end of a long row of players. That’s difficult. What do you do?”

Hazard missed this weekend’s home defeat to Manchester City through injury and has been linked with a move away from Stamford Bridge for some time, despite the fact that he has four years left on his contract. Hiddink, thinks he needs to improve his play if he’s hoping to earn a move, however. He said, “The next period will be very interesting for him. Not now, just this season, but also the Euros and the upcoming season. If he is planning (to move) in his career, then he must show it where he is playing now and in the near future. I hope he uses his quality in a way that he doesn’t think too much ahead or back”.

The funeral of Tommi Miller, the Chelsea fan whose service was paid for by the club’s captain John Terry, took place yesterday near to the youngster’s home in Cambridgeshire.

Former England captain Terry met the youngster when he did a tour of Stamford Bridge last summer and a family friend contacted the footballer on social media site Instagram to let him know of his passing and to ask if he’d contribute anything towards the service. Terry replied saying, ‘I will contact [the funeral director] to make the payment for the burial…It’s such a sad story’.

The funeral was football themed, with mourners asked to wear either Chelsea or Cambridge United shirts for the service. He was buried in a Chelsea-blue casket that had the club’s crest on it, with 100 blue balloons released and 100 blue roses imported from Holland in order to make the service ‘special’ for Tommi.

Mally Beaver, a family friend, made most of the arrangements for the funeral, having become friends with the Millers after meeting on the cancer ward of Addenbroke Hospital in Cambridge. She said, “My father battled leukaemia for just twelve weeks but Tommi fought it for five years. His family found times tough and we did everything we could to help them out”.

The Beaver family are from the travelling community and reached out to other travellers after Tommi’s death to get their help. Mally said, “Roo and Kevin [Tommi’s father] aren’t from the community, but everyone took them to their hearts”. Travellers from destinations as far flung as Australia, Canada and Scotland helped to raise more than £4000 to be put towards a ‘celebration of Tommi’s life’.

Tommi was diagnosed with leukaemia when he was just three years old and underwent a bone marrow transplant last month in an attempt to help him overcome the illness. Sadly it was unsuccessful and he died not long after the operation. Ruth, Tommi’s mother, said she was ‘very proud’ that John Terry remembered her son and was ‘overwhelmed’ by his gesture of offering money for the service.

Chelsea captain John Terry paid for the funeral of an eight-year-old fan of the club who died from leukaemia recently, it has been revealed.

Tommi Miller passed away recently, having been diagnosed with leukaemia at the age of three. A bone marrow transplant was attempted last month but it was unsuccessful. A friend of Tommi’s family then contacted the former England captain on the social networking website Instagram to let let him know of the young fans’ passing and to ask if he would like to contribute to the funeral costs.

Terry replied to the message, saying, “Hi. We have made contact with the funeral director today and I will be contacting them personally tomorrow to make the payment for the burial and the cars and flowers for the family. It’s such a sad story. If you speak to the family please pass on my condolences. John”.

Ruth Miller, Tommi’s mother, said that the family were ‘very proud’ that Terry remembered their son after a recent visit to Stamford Bridge. She said, “When we visited the stadium you could tell John Terry was really taken by him and his cheekiness but it was still a shock when we heard. Tommi obviously made a big impression on him and he was one of his favourite players so it’s very special to us”.

She went on to say that she was ‘overwhelmed’ by the gesture and that the plan is to use the money to buy a ‘special headstone’ for Tommi’s grave. The Miller family live in Thorpe Way in Cambridgeshire and Terry told the Cambridge News that he was ‘totally devastated’ to hear of the youngster’s death.

The Chelsea captain, whose contract expires in the summer meaning he is likely to leave the club, called the funeral director to pay the £1600 that the service was going to cost. He said, “I’m sure [Tommi’s] family and friends will give him the send off he deserves”, adding that it was a ‘pleasure’ to meet him.

Tommi’s funeral will take place this Thursday and those attending have been asked to wear shirts from either Chelsea or Cambridge United football clubs.




Former Chelsea player Gianfranco Zola reckons that the incoming head coach as his old club, Antonio Conte, is one of the top managers in the game and is every bit as good as former Blues boss Jose Mourinho and the Manchester City manager-in-waiting Pep Guardiola.

46-year-old Conte is due to become Chelsea’s next permanent manager after he has led Italy to the 2016 European Championships in France this summer. The Blues have been looking for a new long-term manager since sacking self-proclaimed ‘Special One’ Mourinho last December, with Dutchman Guus Hiddink taking up the role on an interim basis since then.

Conte won the Serie A title with Juventus every season for the three years he was their manager between 2011 and 2014. That led Zola to tell the BBC World Service, “He’s done so well in Italy that he has to be considered the same level as Guardiola and Mourinho. He has not won as much internationally but he is a good coach with a strong personality. I’m sure he will bring a lot to Chelsea”.

The praise of his countryman from Zola comes after another former Chelsea striker, Chris Sutton, suggested that it was a poor appointment by the West London club. Sutton feels that Conte is too similar to Jose Mourinho, but Zola isn’t convinced that’s necessarily a bad thing. He said, “Antonio as a coach is very disciplined, he demands a lot from the side no matter who you are and also tactically he works a lot”.

In fact, the major stumbling block that Zola can foresee is nothing to do with the manager, but rather the fact that the Blues won’t be able to offer Champions League football next season. The reason that the club’s owner, Roman Abramovich, took the decision to sack Mourinho for the second time since he bought the club was that they had endured their worst start to a league campaign since the 1960s. It was such a poor start that the defending Premier League champions were languishing in 16th when Hiddink took over.

Despite the fact that the Blues have only lost one league game since Hiddink came in they will still be quite fortunate to finish in the top ten this year. Having been knocked out of the FA Cup by Everton and the Champions League by PSG, Zola thinks player recruitment could be an issue. He said, “There might be a problem bringing big players because playing in the Champions League is a big issue, but that actually could be an advantage because there won’t be as much pressure on him. He will do well with Chelsea, I am sure”.

With other big teams such as Liverpool and Manchester United almost certainly destined to miss out on the Champions League too, with less fashionable teams such as Tottenham Hotspur and Leicester City likely to take their place, the lack of European football might not be the problem it would have been in previous years.

Antonio Conte’s lawyer has revealed that an Italian prosecutor wants the incoming Chelsea boss to get a six-month suspended prison sentence as well as a fine for his alleged role in match-fixing.

Conte denies any wrongdoing but is being accused of ‘sporting fraud’ by prosecutors from the city of Cremona. It all stems from 2011 when Conte was the manager in charge of Serie B side Siena. The 46-year-old has already served a ban that was imposed on him by the soccer federation in relation to the 2011 case.

The former Juventus player and manager is due to take over as Chelsea’s new head coach after he has managed the Italian national side in the 2016 European Championship tournament in France this summer. A spokesman for the London club has said that they will not comment on an ongoing investigation.</p.

Italian prosecutor Roberto Di Martino requested the suspended sentence and an €8000 fine during a behind-closed-doors hearing on Tuesday in the Italian city of Cremona. He has cited a match between Conte’s Siena and Albino Leffe, claiming that Conte definitely knew of match-fixing efforts but said nothing to the authorities.

The defending Premier League champions have been looking for a new manager since the club’s owner, Roman Abramovich, decided to sack the self-proclaimed ‘Special One’ Jose Mourinho for the second time in his career last December. Guus Hiddink has been in charge on a temporary basis since then and the Blues have been undefeated in the league since his appointment.

The club could do without any controversy around their newest appointment. Leonardo Cammarata, Conte’s lawyer, confirmed that the defence will make a final statement in court on the 11th of April with the verdict in the trial due in the middle of May.