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Jose Mourinho has been quick to refocus Chelsea's minds on their Barclays Premier League title challenge – and Wednesday's trip to West Ham United – after lifting the League Cup trophy at the weekend.

Mourinho clinched his first piece of major silverware since winning the Spanish Liga title with Real Madrid in 2012 courtesy of a 2-0 success over Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley on Sunday.

Manchester City's 2-1 defeat at Liverpool earlier in the day left Chelsea's five-point advantage at the top of the table intact.

And the leaders now head to the Boleyn Ground as they resume their quest for a fourth Barclays Premier League crown, and third under Mourinho.

"It's in the hands of everyone," the Portuguese said. "We have lots of difficult matches to play. City have difficult matches.

"[Manchester United] are in the title race too. Liverpool [beating City], I predicted that."

Mourinho also revealed how he attempted to shield his players from events at Anfield as they prepared for their Wembley date with Spurs.

"I knew that was an impossible mission, but I didn't want the television on in the hotel or on the bus," he added. "I told them I didn't want any kind of manifestation or disappointment if City scored in the last minute, or Liverpool won. I wanted complete silence.

"We were successful on that. But one member of my staff jumped up in the bus. Silvino [Louro, assistant first-team coach]. I wanted to kill the guy. He broke the rule."

Chelsea are unbeaten in their last six league outings, although they were disappointed to be held to a 1-1 draw by struggling Burnley on 21 February.

West Ham, meanwhile, have not won any of their last six matches in all competitions and were beaten 3-1 at home by Crystal Palace on Saturday.

Goalkeeper Adrian, however, has previous experience of frustrating the Chelsea manager as he helped former club Real Betis complete a 1-0 win over Mourinho's Madrid side in 2012, before putting in another superb display in a goalless draw at Stamford Bridge last season.

"I don't know if Mourinho remembers me but when I play against him I have got some good results," the Spaniard told West Ham's official website. "Personally, I feel good when I play against Mourinho."

The visitors will continue to be without Nemanja Matic, who serves the last instalment of a two-match ban for his red card against Burnley, while fellow midfielder John Obi Mikel is out with a knee injury that has required surgery and will keep him sidelined for a month.

For West Ham, Morgan Amalfitano is still suspended after his dismissal against West Bromwich Albion in the FA Cup, and Carlton Cole's hamstring injury means he remains a fitness concern for manager Sam Allardyce.

West Ham (from): Adrian, Jaaskelainen, Collins, Cresswell, Demel, Henry, Jenkinson, O'Brien, Potts, Reid, Tomkins, Downing, Jarvis, Kouyate, Lletget, Noble, Nolan, Poyet, Song, Cole, Sakho, Valencia.

Chelsea (from): Blackman, Cech, Courtois, Ake, Azpilicueta, Cahill, Christensen, Filipe, Ivanovic, Terry, Zouma, Cuadrado, Fabregas, Hazard, Mikel, Oscar, Ramires, Willian, Costa, Drogba, Remy.

Match Appointments
Referee: Andre Marriner Assistants: S Ledger, G Beswick Fourth Official: N Swarbrick

luvola:
This match is going to ve difficult for Chelsea

keandre:
sure 3pts

khattab02:
not gonna come easy..

publicenemy:
End of season table

1. Mann City
2. Man United
3. Arsenal
4. Liverpool
5. Chelsea

If you don't like it...













































































































#GOANDDIE.

publicenemy:
End of season table

1. Mann City
2. Man United
3. Arsenal
4. Liverpool
5. Chelsea

If you don't like it...




#GOANDDIE.

publicenemy:
End of season table

1. Mann City
2. Man United
3. Arsenal
4. Liverpool
5. Chelsea

If you don't like it...













































































































#GOANDDIE.

femi4:
Abeg....who get 4litres there

luvola:
What sort of humiliation is this ? Where is Liverpool thread on front page... this is a blow to us.#Nonsense. Msheew

luvola:
This match is going to ve difficult for Chelsea

femi4:
Abeg....who get 4litres there

ichidodo:
[color=#1980BC] OMG!! We so hate Chelsae right now...A loss should put us in good spirits especially after that catastrophic game in Wembley... [/color]

publicenemy:
End of season table

1. Mann City
2. Man United
3. Arsenal
4. Liverpool
5. Chelsea

If you don't like it...


#GOANDDIE.