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Apr 12, 2015 at 1.30pm UK
 
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Live Coverage: Jose Mourinho's weekly Chelsea press conference

Follow Sports Mole's live coverage of Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho talking to the press ahead of his side's match against Queens Park Rangers.
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Jose Mourinho has revealed that he expects Diego Costa to be fit for half of Chelsea's remaining Premier League matches this season.

The striker will miss this weekend's trip to Queens Park Rangers with a hamstring injury, but is likely to be ready to play for of the last eight games.

The manager confirmed that he has an otherwise fully fit squad for the meeting of Loftus Road.

Read what else he discussed below.


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Good afternoon! Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho will be holding his pre-match press conference as the club prepare to face Queens Park Rangers in the Premier League this weekend.

The match pitches two sides at opposite ends of the table against each other as Chelsea will be hoping to build on their seven-point lead, while QPR are in the relegation zone. It's a derby match though, so Chelsea surely won't be taking it lightly.

With Diego Costa sidelined with a hamstring injury, Loic Remy is likely to continue up front, which means he'll be facing his former club, having joined Chelsea from the Loftus Road outfit during the summer's transfer window.

Mourinho wasn't in charge of Chelsea during QPR's last stint in the Premier League, so this will be the first time he has taken his side to Loftus Road. Chelsea are unbeaten since New Year's Day in the league though, and have won three of their last four, so unfamiliar surroundings shouldn't be too much of a concern for the Portuguese.

Here are a few of Chelsea's players heading out to training at Cobham earlier:


One player who all eyes will be on this weekend is John Terry, who ended up with a fine and a ban following a previous trip to Loftus Road after he was accused of racially abusing then-QPR defender Anton Ferdinand. However, QPR boss Chris Ramsey has played down that incident ahead of Sunday's meeting between the two sides.

Don't forget, we have live coverage from all of this weekend's Premier League fixtures from an hour before kickoff, plus team news, half-time and full-time updates, managerial reaction and loads more, so make sure you're with us on Sunday to see how the league leaders get on.

The manager has just arrived ready for his media briefing, so let's see what he has to say this week...

As usual, Mourinho starts with details about his squad's fitness, confirming that Diego Costa is his only injury absentee for this weekend's match.

Expanding on his side's fitness levels, Mourinho says: "Mikel ready, Fabregas with the mask [to protect his broken nose] but ready too, no problems. Certainly [Costa] will be back sure. I don't know when, but we have eight matches to play. If he plays four it's normal. Three is a little bit below what I'm expecting. If he plays five it is more than I am expecting, so I am thinking about four matches to play."

Fabregas and Matic could both get two-match suspensions if they're booked this weekend, but the manager insists: "No, I won't leave them out, they will both start, it is always the same."

On the team's discipline in general, Mourinho adds: "We don't want bookings, we try not to get yellow cards and try to play football. If they have to make a foul for a yellow card, these fouls they have to do it and another one plays but the way we play it is not easy for our players to be booked."

Defending champions Man City fell back to fourth last weekend, but Mourinho insists that this was not a shock: "I'm not surprised about what happened to Manchester City. This is the Premier League, it's possible in England. To be top since day one shows consistency, stability and a brace approach to every game. We deserve to be there."

Chelsea have been linked with Tokyo FC striker Yoshinori Muto this week, but Mourinho won't be drawn on the speculation although he adds: "Chelsea will never sign a player who isn't good enough to play for the club. We will also always look at Financial Fair Play."

John Terry's return to Loftus Road following the racism incident between him a Anton Ferdinand in 2012 has been discussed in the build up to this match, but Mourinho doesn't think it will have an impact: "I don't think so, I think it's just a football match."

Focusing on the match itself, Mourinho tells reporters: "We go to play. We go to win. The people in the stands can play a role, but they cannot score goals."

That's all from Mourinho this week, so make sure you're back here on Sunday to see if Mourinho's side can maintain their unbeaten run. Until then, thanks for joining me this afternoon. Goodbye.

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Loic Remy of Chelsea scores his team's second goal during the Barclays Premier League match between Chelsea and Stoke City at Stamford Bridge on April 4, 2015
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