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Wenger makes Chelsea favorite for England title
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ARSENE Wenger has labeled Chelsea as the ‘super-favorite’ for the English Premier League title after watching the leader close in on Arsenal’s record for consecutive victories.
Antonio Conte’s side has opened up a six-point lead at the top of the table thanks to a superb run of 12 successive wins.
Chelsea has been perfect in the league since a 0-3 defeat at Arsenal on September 24 led to a change in formation from Blues boss Conte
The west Londoners can consolidate pole position in this weekend’s clash with Stoke City and Gunners manager Wenger conceded yesterday they are firm favorites to take the title.
“At the moment Chelsea are the super-favorites because they are quite big and made a big difference,” Wenger said.
“But it is theirs to lose as we say here in England. They can still lose it, at the moment they have won it but they can still lose it.
“It’s still a long way to go and very difficult for everybody so the head-to-head (matches) will have a vital importance. They have addressed their problems well. You have to give credit to Conte to find a solution that has balanced well his team.
“They bought David Luiz who stabilized their defensive record and I think overall they are the team that has been the most consistent until now.”
Arsenal won 13 consecutive EPL games on its way to the title in 2001-02, extending the run to 14 the following campaign, but Wenger says he would do nothing but congratulate Chelsea if it matches Arsenal’s single-season run.
“What they do is fantastic,” he added. “If they do it, it’s absolutely marvellous because nobody expected that.”
Arsenal hosts Crystal Palace in a London derby tomorrow.
Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp, meanwhile, says the team that avoids making costly defensive mistakes will win today’s showdown with title rival Manchester City.
Klopp’s second-placed side has scored 45 goals in 18 EPL matches, while third-placed City has hit the back of the net 39 times.
But both teams are less impressive at the back and Klopp believes the key to winning at Anfield this weekend will be finding a way to cut out careless errors in defense.
“I think it will be a little bit about how we protect our own attacks because both teams are pretty good on the counter-attack,” Klopp said yesterday.
“Both teams are good in possession so we have to defend at our highest level. The detail will make the difference.
“It is nice to think about what you can do in the game and what you want.
“We beat them last year but we lost the League Cup final unfortunately.
“They have got better since last year but we are getting better, too. It will be a different game to last year. We cannot play like last year, they will not play like last year.”
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