Skippy on Chelsea: “We’re under no illusions as to what this game means to everyone”

Oliver Skipp has laid out the requirements to pick up a positive result at Chelsea on Sunday (4.30pm).

It’s a huge game in the Premier League. Chelsea sit third, but following our dramatic late win at Leicester City on Wednesday evening, we’re up to fifth, eight points adrift yet with four games in hand on the Blues. West Ham are currently fourth, a point ahead of us, but, again, we’ve three games in hand on the Hammers, who face Manchester United this weekend.

Our record at Stamford Bridge is well documented, and we suffered a 2-0 loss there in our most recent visit in the Carabao Cup semi-final, first leg on 5 January.

But we performed well in the second leg, albeit a narrow loss, and this week’s win at the KP has stretched Antonio Conte’s unbeaten start as our Head Coach in the Premier League to nine matches - six wins, three draws. Now, the former Chelsea boss is back at the Bridge again, and midfielder ‘Skippy’ knows exactly what this game will mean for him, the players and the fans.

“We need to do the basics well, make sure we match Chelsea’s intensity, but also play with a freedom that allows our creative players to do what they can do,” said Skippy, who has featured in 17 of our 19 Premier League matches so far this term

“If you look at our front line, on any given day, if we give them the service, they can really hurt the opposition. That’s the job of the players behind, to make sure we give them that platform to deliver goals and assists. As midfielders, that’s what we’ll be trying to do to get the result we need.

“For sure, we need to match or better Chelsea’s aggression and intensity, and we’ll make sure we do that on Sunday. We know what it means to the fans, to the Club, we’re under no illusions as to what this game means to everyone.”