LONDON — Chelsea will face an in-form Manchester United as it tries to move one step closer to the Premier League title at Stamford Bridge Saturday. Jose Mourinho's table-topper is currently seven points in front of second-placed Arsenal, which is involved in FA Cup semifinal action against Reading this weekend. Third-placed United is a point further back, having played a game more than Chelsea, but Louis van Gaal's men will arrive in London on a run of six successive wins. Chelsea needs just 12 points from its seven remaining matches to win its first league title since 2010 and while a defeat Saturday wouldn't spell the end of its challenge, it would give the chasing pack a glimmer of hope. The Blues' form over the whole season was reflected Thursday when the Chelsea pair of striker Diego Costa, currently the Premier League's joint top-scorer on 19 goals with Tottenham Hotspur's Harry Kane, and the gifted Eden Hazard were among the six nominees for England's Professional Footballers' Association Premier League Player of the Year award. Last week Mourinho said Hazard was “by far the best player” in the league and it was a view backed up by Chelsea attacking midfielder Oscar. Meanwhile, former United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar said fellow-Dutchman van Gaal was the right man to bring the glory days back to Old Trafford. Van der Sar, who won four titles at Old Trafford, said his old club would be in serious contention to lift the Premier League trophy next season, even if it was likely to prove just beyond its grasp this term. Faltering champion Manchester City, now 12 points off top spot, will look to ease the pressure on manager Manuel Pellegrini with victory at home to West Ham Sunday following last week's 4-2 derby defeat by Manchester United. Sixth-placed Southampton will continue its quest for European football — and possibly even a place in the Champions League — away to Stoke Saturday. Parma docked 4 more points Cash-strapped Serie A struggler Parma now looks certain to be relegated after being hit with a four-point penalty by Italian league chiefs Thursday. Parma, now in administration after going bankrupt, was handed a three-point penalty earlier this season for failing to pay the salaries of players and club employees since July. The club's players have still to be paid, sparking another points penalty that means Parma now has only 12 points from its five wins and four draws so far after 30 league games. The sanction was issued by Serie A officials under the aegis of the Italian Football Federation (FIGC). Former club officials Giampietro Manenti and Pietro Leonardi, the former the club's last president, also saw current bans extended by a further six months. Shocking racial abuse Liverpool and Italy striker Mario Balotelli has received more than 4,000 racist messages via social media this season, according to new research from British anti-discrimination body Kick It Out. Arsenal striker Danny Welbeck and Liverpool's Daniel Sturridge have also been targeted with more than a thousand discriminatory messages. In total, Kick it Out's research estimates there have been 134,000 discriminatory posts this season, and 39,000 of these directed towards Premier League players. English football has long prided itself on its anti-racism policies, contrasting them with what has often been seen as a less enlightened approach in other European countries where racist chanting against black players during matches — something no longer commonplace in England — still takes place. However, Kick it Out's evidence suggests the anonymity of social media is providing a new platform for racist abuse of footballers in England. — Agencies
