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Journalism of Courage
London, April 28: Manchester United may have secured their sixth English Premiership title in eight seasons last Saturday with barely a whimper of protest from the chasing pack but the race is heating up for the remaining top three slots and the prize of European Champions League football.
8220;Now we must do the same at Chelsea and banish that memory. We were awful. In the end, the 2-1 scoreline flattered us because we could have been three or four goals down early on.8221;
Third-placed Arsenal will be hoping for their 10th straight victory when they travel to Goodison Park to tackle Everton.
The Gunners will be boosted by the return of Nwankwo Kanu, who was away on international duty in Negeria last weekend. With their Champions League dream still alive, albeit fading fast, Leeds must beat relegation-threatened Sheffield Wednesday on Sunday to stay in the hunt.
This local Derby always carries an edge and when the team they are playing are battling desperately to stay in the Premiership, David O8217;Leary8217;s young guns know they are in for a bruising battle.
Despite two wins in their last three league matches, however, Wednesday are still favourites to join Watford in Division One next season. They do, however, have a game in hand over Bradford and Wimbledon above them, and if they win this weekend safety could remain possible 8212; depending on results elsewhere.
Judgement day awaits both Bradford and Wimbledon at Valley Parade on Sunday. The make-or-break relegation showdown is Bradford8217;s biggest game in the club8217;s history 8212; and Paul Jewell8217;s side go into the match in good spirits.
Their victory over Sunderland on Monday ended a miserable run of one point from 36 on their travels. Wimbledon, who have two more points than Bradford with three games left to play, have lost their last seven league matches.
Their preparation8217;s for Sunday8217;s game have been hampered by the absence of coach Egil Olsen, who flew to Norway on Wednesday to recieve an award for services to Norwegian football.
But Wimbledon striker Carl Cort, linked with a move to Leeds next season, believes the arrival of the Norwegian has upset the balance of the side. He said: 8220;The main problem since day one has been that we8217;ve conceded too many goals, which we never used to do.8221;
8220;A lot of players didn8217;t like Egil8217;s new formation. Although you get used to it, if the players are less confident in the formation and have no confidence in the manager, then they will not perform well.8221;
