Football: Heat goes on faltering Arsenal

Since climbing to the top of the Premier League, Arsenal has taken only one point from three games, slipped to third and been knocked out of the FA Cup.

Now Arsene Wenger's young players face a tough home game against reviving Liverpool, and another defeat could leave them with little chance of winning a title they last captured six years ago.

"I feel that we are not in the best position but we will not give up," Wenger said after Sunday's 2-0 defeat at Chelsea left his side nine points off the lead.

"We were a bit unfortunate as well in the same period to play Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool on the trot. If you lose one game, it is very difficult with the psychological implications for the next game. I believe that is a little bit of a disadvantage."

At the same stage of last season, however, Arsenal slipped off the title pace by drawing five games in a row - four of them 0-0 - although it didn't face any of its traditional title rivals during that run.

Wenger's team hopes to bounce back by beating Liverpool at home on Thursday (NZT). But it will face a Liverpool side that has lost only one of its last nine league games, beat neighbour Everton 1-0 on Saturday and has not conceded in its last four outings.

Arsenal has scored only one goal in its last three games - a 3-1 defeat at home to Manchester United - and Wenger's team rarely troubled Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech despite having far more possession.

Chelsea striker Didier Drogba scored both goals and rattled the crossbar with a free kick, and the team's defence was just as outstanding.

Manager Carlo Ancelotti singled out John Terry for praise for a commanding performance two days after having the England captaincy taken off him by Fabio Capello. The England coach took the action with Terry the subject of newspaper allegations that the Chelsea defender, who is married, had an affair with the former girlfriend of England teammate Wayne Bridge.

"John is the perfect captain for Chelsea," Ancelotti said. "My captain has a fantastic attitude. He is doing very well in every game. It is very important for the team to have this leadership. He was always in control of the game. He has a strong mentality.

"He is working for his club and we are happy to have this performance from him in this moment. The England captaincy was not my decision and I do not want to judge about this decision."

Terry injured a thigh in Sunday's game but hopes to be fit to face ninth-place Everton at Goodison Park with Chelsea now two points ahead at the top of the standings.

Everton's defeat to Liverpool was its first defeat in 10 league games since a 2-0 home loss to its Merseyside neighbuor on November 29. Saturday's game was a bruising confrontation and both managers hope they can send out the strongest available lineups for Wednesday's games.

Second-place Manchester United comes off a 5-0 victory over last-place Portsmouth but now has a tougher game at Aston Villa, which is seventh in the standings and has conceded the fewest goals at home - seven - in the Premier League. United is level with Arsenal for the most goals away from home, with 25.

In Thursday's other games, Hull hopes to continue its revival with a victory at Blackburn, having drawn with Chelsea and beaten Manchester City to climb out of the relegation zone and up to 14th.

West Ham slipped back into relegation trouble after a 2-1 loss at Burnley and now hosts eighth-place Birmingham. Wolves, which lost 2-1 at Birmingham to slip to next-to-last, hosts fifth-place Tottenham.

On Wednesday, it's: Fulham-Burnley; Manchester City-Bolton; Portsmouth-Sunderland and Wigan-Stoke.