11/28/2008 - London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Arsenal's visits to Stamford Bridge to meet Chelsea usually have major title implications, but this Sunday's contest is more of a must-win for Arsenal if the Gunners want to remain in the title discussion.
Arsene Wenger's side is 10 points back of the league-leading Blues, and they have won only one of their last five games in Premiership play.
In an effort to stop the bleeding at the club, Wenger awarded midfielder Cesc Fabregas the captain's armband, stripping former skipper William Gallas in part because the Frenchman made some controversial comments about his teammates following their 2-0 loss to Aston Villa.
Despite Arsenal's recent struggles in the league, the newly-appointed captain believes his team will go for the win and not be content with a share of the points.
"Our target is to go there and win," Fabregas told the club's official website. "We need to get some points back.
"Arsenal never go for a draw and a club like Chelsea will be the same as us. Every time I have played against them they have gone forward and tried to gain victory. We will expect it will be the same on Sunday."
Three points in West London is something that Arsenal has not come away with since February 2004, and despite the fact that Chelsea had its record unbeaten streak snapped by Liverpool in October, the Blues still boast the league's best defensive record at home with just three goals conceded in seven games.
Chelsea is coming off of a 1-1 draw with Bordeaux in the Champions League on Wednesday, and the team was held to a 0-0 stalemate by Newcastle last time out in league play.
While goalkeeper Petr Cech feels as though Arsenal is the more desperate team, he also acknowledges that three points would be huge for Chelsea because it would allow the club to eliminate a big rival in its chase for the league crown.
"For them it is a must not lose game, if they lose this game they are out of the title race completely," Cech told the club's official website. "Maybe it is even a must win game, because if they don't win it is still 10 points, still a big gap.
"But, I would say must not lose because if it is 13 points it is too far. It is also a big game for us, because if we can win we can cut out one of our title rivals."
Both Manchester United and Liverpool will be interested in the result at the Bridge, but both clubs must also rebound from draws in league play last weekend and get back into the win column.
United must be prepared for the Manchester derby match with Manchester City, a team that has wins over both Arsenal in the league and Schalke in UEFA Cup play this past week.
Liverpool will host West Ham on Monday as the Reds enter the weekend level on points with Chelsea, while Sunday's other contests feature second-from-the- bottom Blackburn traveling to Portsmouth and Tottenham playing host to Everton.
Saturday's slate of matches includes fourth-place Aston Villa entertaining Fulham, Stoke City squaring off with Hull City in a battle of promoted sides, Newcastle hitting the road to meet Middlesbrough, Bolton facing Sunderland and last-place West Bromwich invading Wigan.
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Terrell Owens could return for Cowboys next game
A bye week will allow Terrell Owens broken hand to recover just in time for the next game the Dallas Cowboys are slated to play, according to reports. MySportsbook.com, an football sportsbook, has posted football betting lines on TO playing.
Owens broke the bone leading to his right ring finger Sunday night and had a plate surgically attached to it Monday. Although Owens' hand was swollen and aching Wednesday, Dallas Cowboys coach Bill Parcells said he's optimistic the receiver will be back at work next week and catching passes a week from Sunday against the Tennessee Titans.
MySportsbook.com online sportsbook listed Terrell Owens with odds of 7-2 (or $7 paid out for every $2 bet) to return back for the game against Tennessee.
"I certainly wouldn't rule it out now," Parcells said, referring to Terrell Owens immediate return. "Maybe five days from now I might, but I wouldn't rule it out now. ... I know we're looking to try to get him moving around pretty good in the next day or so. So we'll see where we are."
Owens did not speak with reporters Wednesday, but said Sunday he'd be out two to four weeks. A return against the Titans would be 13 days after the surgery. The Cowboys were listed as an early -7 1/2 favorite vs. the Tennessee Titans for Week 4 at MySportsbook.com
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