Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has said that he expects Norwich to be a stern test for his side when they meet on Sunday, according to Sky Sports.
Following Chelsea’s midweek Champions League exit to Atletico Madrid, the Premier League is now the final chance of silverware for the Blues this season.
Sunderland showed the London club just how difficult a side battling at the bottom of the table can be, and Mourinho will be wary when he faces the relegation threatened Canaries.
“I expect they are going to play a final,” Mourinho said. “They have two games to decide where they are next season. Are they in the Championship? Are they in the Premier League?
“Are they playing against Chelsea, against Arsenal, against Manchester United? Are they playing at Anfield? Are they playing at the Emirates? Are they playing midweek matches in the Championship?
“It’s going to be very, very, very difficult.
“I have to motivate my players with the responsibility of finishing in the top three, which is very important for us to give us a better pre-season. If you play a play-off your pre-season is completely different; it changes a lot.
“I have to motivate my players with the fact that the fans deserve us to win at home.
“I also want to motivate them with the fact we must feel responsibility to be fair and to be correct with every other team that is also playing for relegation.
“I don’t think Cardiff, Fulham, Sunderland, the teams that are also there, I can imagine they are not waiting for Chelsea to have a bad performance and to lose the game against Norwich.”
After the loss to Sunderland at Stamford Bridge last weekend, the following home defeat to Atletico in midweek, the Portuguese boss will be desperate to return to winning ways.
“The day I’m happy a couple of days after a defeat is because there is something wrong with me, and there is nothing wrong with me,” Mourinho added.
“I’m not happy two days after a defeat. I consider myself a strong personality.
“I consider myself somebody with a great capacity to react to the negative moments and the negative feeling and in this moment I only think about the next match, the next couple of matches and the next season.”
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