I’d hazard a guess that a Thursday night Premier League fixture, against Burnley, wouldn’t be considered, by Antonio Conte, to be the ideal preparation ahead of an FA Cup Final against Southampton, this Sunday.
But that’s the way the dice roll in football and Conte knows, with Burnley having won their last six Premier League games, his side face a tough fixture tonight.
Ahead of the game, both managers have held their obligatory pre-match press conferences with Antonio Conte, despite having his spiel interrupted by a phone call from his wife, remarking about not giving up the fight to qualify for the Champions League next season:
“We have to try until the end to reach this target.
“If we want to be realistic with five games to go, it’s not simple to reduce the gap, but we must have the will to fight, the desire to take this target. Why not?
“We have an important game against Burnley, a really strong team having a fantastic season, and it won’t be easy to get three points.”
As for the Burnley manager, Sean Dyche, he had this to say about the possibility of qualifying for the Europa League and also the threat Chelsea present, commenting:
“The fans are beginning to think about it. Mainly the focus here stays on the next game.
“We’ve got Chelsea next and they’re certainly a fine side. We’ll see where it takes us but it’s very pleasing to be in this position at this stage of the season.”
In what will, no doubt, be a tough game, would anyone care to predict the result?