"I am nothing close to the roles I play in movies"

Yvonne Nelson is a household name in the entertainment Industry. Popular for her roles in movies like 'Heart of Men', 'Forbidden Fruit', 'House of Gold' and her award winning self produced 'Single and married', the Ghanaian actress has carved a niche for herself.

In an interview with Vanguard, Yvonne addresses the misconception people have about her, her bad girl girl roles in movies, and lesbian rumours surrounding her name.

Read excerpts;

On bad girl roles and misconceptions.

“I am nothing close to the roles I play in movies. People should understand that I am an actresses and I get scripts that expect me to act in a certain manner. As a consummate professional, I am not going to turn down those scripts because I was expected to act in a certain manner,”.

 “I am aware that some people took exception to the role I played in the movie “Heart of Men” where there appeared to be some form of frontal nudity, but the truth of the matter is that there was no such overt display of nudity. But let’s even for the sake of argument say there was some nudity, why are we so judgmental and somewhat hypocritical?

The same people who took issues with that movie watch Hollywood movies where sexually graphic scenes are shown in a most morally appalling manner. We don’t condemn such roles; we, as a matter of fact, celebrate such roles. I am not an advocate of nudity or sexually graphic images in our movies. I have actually spoken against some of those tendencies; I will never appear frontally nude in any movie no matter the fees promised.

“I have morals and my morals are held closely to my chest. As you may recall, I was not the only person in that scene; there were others, and I am always at a loss when my role appeared to have been the one that garnered the most reaction. If you have been following the industry, which I believe you do, overt resort to nudity has been greatly reduced.

It was a phase-one that was experimented by some producers and realizing that it ran counter to the values that Nollywood or Gallywood espoused, the producers went back to doing stories that are heavy on family values.”

On lesbian rumours.

“look at me….what do you think? Of course, I am not a lesbian.

Lesbianism is against my religious beliefs, it’s against my cultural norms and I think it was very mischievous for people to insinuate such about someone they hardly knew. The rumor was started by a notorious website in Ghana last year when they reported that they had never seen me with a man. In their warped and twisted calculation, I was thus a lesbian. Can you imagine such crass reasoning?

That they had not seen me with a man, and may have seen me with my girlfriends going out to have fun, and then automatically I was a lesbian. It was a hatchet job – an attempt to discredit me, but they all failed. I am heterosexual and would remain one till the end. When you are in the public light as I have been blessed and privileged to being, your life becomes a public property and some mischievous people will say all manner of things about you. It comes with the territory, so I forgive them.”

"It's unfair Jose Mourinho looks good, wins like a king"

Former Manchester United manager, Sir Alex Ferguson was high in praises for Jose Mourinho in a TV interview with BT Sport aired on Boxing Day

Chelsea added three more points on Monday night in the win over Stoke City to stay top of the EPL over the Christmas break and Sir Alex says it’s a bit tardy and unfair that the Portuguese manager has got the looks, speaks five languages and wins without stress – something he thinks is rare for a manager who never really hard a playing career.

‘’It is unfair really. He’s good looking, he’s got that sort of George Clooney bit in his hair now,'' Ferguson commented. ''But I think he is a great example, he can speak five languages or whatever he can.

‘’He goes and becomes an interpreter for Bobby Robson, follows him to Barcelona, works under Louis Van Gaal; he is learning all the time.

‘’He (Mourinho) has got a determination, he wants to be a coach.

‘’He never played the game, by the way – you tell me how many presidents would give a manager a job who has never played the game? None. But he has done it.

‘’Then he goes and manages a small team in Portugal, then goes to Porto and wins the league, wins the UEFA Cup, wins the European Cup, goes to Chelsea and wins the league. Goes to Inter Milan.

‘’That is an example to anyone who wants to do well, you shouldn’t let the barriers get in your way if you want to get there.’’

Mourinho and Sir Ferguson were entangled in many battles as managers but the pair appear to have buried the hatchet ever since.

Mourinho made it 14 wins in 18 games so far in the EPL this season with the 2-0 win over West Ham with goals from John Terry and Diego Costa.

Mourinho has 'planted a seed' with Chelsea diving rant - Gary Neville

The Portuguese took exception to Anthony Taylor's decision to book Cesc Fabregas for simulation on Sunday, after the midfielder appeared to have been tripped by Matt Targett
Jose Mourinho's allegations of a "campaign" against Chelsea over diving were designed to make officials think twice before making big calls against his team in the future, according to Gary Neville.

Mourinho took exception to referee Anthony Taylor's decision to book Cesc Fabregas for simulation during Chelsea's 1-1 draw with Southampton at St Mary's on Sunday and suggested a wider pattern with several other incidents that have cost the Premier League leaders bookings or points this season.

And Neville, who played his entire career under Sir Alex Ferguson - another manager who made a habit of talking about referees - believes the Chelsea boss knows exactly what he hopes to achieve with his comments.

"He has planted a seed for the rest of the season," Neville said on Sky Sports. "He'll probably take a fine for that.

"What Mourinho has done today has said he's drawing a line in the sand and said 'I'm not accepting this any more', letting the referees know this is unacceptable for the rest of the season.

"The campaign bit is him saying he's not having this anymore.

"It's what teams that are going for the title do. Historically, you put pressure on, you plant seeds, he won't think for one minute there's a campaign against Chelsea." 

Commission rejects FFP challenge

Belgian agent Daniel Striani has lost his legal challenge against UEFA's Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules.

The rules - aimed at encouraging Europe's top clubs to break even - were challenged by Striani last year, but the European Commission (EC) informed him of its intention to reject the appeal in May.

A letter sent to Striani, who argued that the regulations would restrict investment in clubs and limit players’ wage and transfer fee inflation, pointed out that the regulations applied to clubs rather than agents and that he had no legitimate interest in challenging them.

UEFA president called for the European Union to back the FFP regulations in an October speech.

And though Striani has made a number of submissions to the Commission with a view to getting FFP rules changes, he has been unsuccessful once again.

In its conclusion, the EC said: "The Commission, in its discretion to set priorities... concludes that there are insufficient grounds for carrying out a further investigation into the alleged infringement(s) and consequently rejects your complaint.

"Regarding your claim that the break-even requirement infringes Articles 45 TFEU (free movement of workers), 56 TFEU (free movement of services) and 63 TFEU (free movement of capital), the Commission does not intend to investigate these further.

Striani is permitted to challenge the decision at the General Court of the European Union.

The Best African Nations of 2014

Goal Nigeria celebrate the continent's most impressive quartet of national sides over the last 12 months

While Nigeria endured a year to forget in 2014, various other African nations have enjoyed successes that they can look back on with pride.

In this feature, we celebrate the performances and the progression of four of the continent’s most impressive national teams, and explore how and why things have gone right for them this year.

The changing reaction to Cape Verde’s successes is testament to how quickly and convincingly they’ve improved.

Back in 2012, when the Tubaroes Azuis secured their first Cup of Nations qualification by beating Cameroon, it was celebrated as one of the greatest giant killings in the history of the African game.

In 2014, however, when they advanced to the tournament proper after cruising through qualification Group F, few people batted an eyelid.

Such is the conviction of their togetherness and the pride in their identity, that Cape Verde have transformed from being rank outsiders to ‘belonging’ at the continental top table.

The islanders were the first nation to confirm their presence at the Afcon (even ahead of hosts Equatorial Guinea) and will travel to the tournament confident of escaping from Group B.

Rui Aguas is so secure in his options that he can afford to travel to the Cup of Nations without players such as Braga’s Ze Luis and Dordrecht’s Josimar Lima.

No one will be welcoming Cape Verde with the ‘minnows’ tag any longer!

Gordon Igesund’s unhappy time in charge of the national side came to an end in the middle of 2014 when the South African federation opted not to renew the coach’s contract.

I believe that the former Moroka Swallows boss didn’t do as badly as some like to make out, but it’s fair to say that he left Bafana in a fairly muddled state.

There were few guarantees that incoming boss Shakes Mashaba would be able to pull the disparate threads of the national side together and ensure that the former African champions qualified for the 2015 Cup of Nations.

Gordon Igesund’s unhappy time in charge of the national side came to an end in the middle of 2014 when the South African federation opted not to renew the coach’s contract.

I believe that the former Moroka Swallows boss didn’t do as badly as some like to make out, but it’s fair to say that he left Bafana in a fairly muddled state.

There were few guarantees that incoming boss Shakes Mashaba would be able to pull the disparate threads of the national side together and ensure that the former African champions qualified for the 2015 Cup of Nations.

Financial Fair Play prevents new investment in football - AC Milan sporting director Gandini

The Italian discussed the impact of the regulation on the game and stressed that the current rules are prohibitive for prospective new owners

AC Milan sporting director Umberto Gandini believes that current Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations prevent new investment in football clubs.

Speaking at the International Sports Conference in Dubai, the Italian stated his belief that FFP maintains the status quo of the established European sides and doesn’t provide equal conditions of competition. 

Gandini is also the vice-chairman of the European Club Association (ECA), an independent body that represents the interests of teams in European competitions, one that is also heavily involved in the decision-making process when implementing new directives.

FFP has been the subject of intense scrutiny recently, with Jose Mourinho branding the current set-up a "contradiction", and Gandini feels that the situation requires reassessment.

The Italian said: "Financial Fair Play has brought some control and common sense into the administration of football clubs in Europe.

"It has been a success in terms of producing a reduction in the overall losses in European football.

"On the other hand, there is a crystallisation [of the top clubs] and we now have significant investors waiting to come into the game but they are prevented from doing so by FFP.

"There are currently five or six major clubs in Europe but what Uefa should be aiming for is to have 20 major clubs."

Also speaking at the conference, Uefa General Secretary Gianni Infantino defended FFP, countering: "It is important to look to the future. What FFP has done is make sure that when you manage a club you have to do so in a certain way. 

"There was a period of austerity and now we should look to the next stage - and that is growth. There can still be 20 major clubs and not just in England but major European clubs too. We just have to be brave."  

Infantino also showed frustration when asked to comment on the ongoing controversy surrounding the decision to award Qatar the 2022 World Cup, stating his desire for clarity on the subject of Michael Garcia's report on corruption within Fifa.

He added: “The vote [to award Qatar the tournament] took place four years ago, and people are still talking about it. Either there is something in it, or there is nothing. The sooner everything is out and everything is clear, it will be better.

Keshi should hide his face in shame — Prince Oduah

A former member of the board of the Nigeria Football Association (now Federation), Prince Isidore Oduah has reiterated his call on out-of-contract Super Eagles coach, Stephen Keshi to l forget about returning as national team coach.

Keshi

In a chat with Sports Vanguard Sunday, Oduah insisted that Keshi had no business going to the NFF secretariat for the same job he failed in. For failing to qualify the country for the 2015 Afcon, the veteran sports administrator quipped, “he has only succeeded in destroying whatever reputation he had.

“Keshi should hide his face in shame and leave because even those who are close to him are asking him not to return. I’m happy people like his former boss, Shaibu Amodu and Christian Chukwu are beginning to tell him the truth.”

Oduah said, “Keshi has abused the privileges he enjoys from high places. He has embarrassed his benefactors by failing to qualify Nigeria for the Nations Cup. He should just go.”

He therefore called on the NFF to move ahead and appoint a new coach who will help reposition Nigerian football. “I don’t think there is anybody who will blame them if, at this stage, they ignore Keshi and appoint another coach for the national team. No individual is bigger than the country.”

AirAsia plane likely ‘at bottom of sea’

The AirAsia plane which went missing with 162 people on board en route for Singapore is likely at the bottom of the sea, Indonesia’s National Search and Rescue Agency chief said Monday.

“Based on the coordinates given to us and evaluation that the estimated crash position is in the sea, the hypothesis is the plane is at the bottom of the sea,” Bambang Soelistyo told a press conference.

“That’s the preliminary suspicion and it can develop based on the evaluation of the result of our search.”

Soelistyo said Indonesia did not have “the tools”, such as submersible vehicles, required to retrieve the plane from the seabed, but that it is reaching out to other countries for help if necessary.

“Due to the lack of technology that we have, I have coordinated with our foreign minister so we will borrow from other countries which have offered. They are the UK, France and US,” he said.

The Airbus A320-200 disappeared Sunday en route from Surabaya in Indonesia’s east Java to Singapore after the crew requested a change of flight plan due to stormy weather, in the third crisis for a Malaysian carrier this year.

Singapore, Malaysia and Australia have dispatched aircraft and ships to assist Indonesia in the search, which is centred on the Java Sea. The US has also said it was ready to assist.

I regret supporting Amaechi to be governor —Odili

Former governor of Rivers State, Dr. Peter Odili, has said that he regretted working for Governor Rotimi Amaechi to emerge governor of the state.

Peter Odili

Odili, in Ndoni Local Government Area of the state, at a campaign rally for the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Mr. Nyesom Wike, alleged that Governor Amaechi dismantled structures that the founding fathers of the PDP had in the state when he assumed office.

He said: “We thought we did the right thing by supporting Amaechi to become the governor of the state. We left a united state. We also left a united party. PDP was one. Rivers State is PDP. There was no other party in Rivers State. Whatever the party hierarchy said would happen, that was what happened. The secretary is here to confirm what I am telling you here today.

“With all the best intentions, we supported his political career and ambition. We thought we did what was best for the state. As you know, until a man has power and has money, you don’t really know him, but that is a story for the future. One thing is clear, we have accepted our mistake and we are determined to correct it in 2015.

“Who would have thought that a governor who won an election on the platform of the PDP would decamp with the mandate of the party to another party? Who would have thought that a governor elected on the platform of the PDP would abandon the PDP to join an opposition party?

“The elders of the party who are here can corroborate what I am saying here today. We ran a cohesive party. We had respect for the elders of the party. We had respect for party members. No one attempted to hijack the PDP because the party was bigger than anyone no matter his or her position. Party officials were respected because the party was run from the secretariat which was home to all members of the party

“I want to thank the governorship candidate of the PDP for the 2015 governorship election and the next governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, for miraculously rescuing the party from disintegration and working tirelessly to unite the members of the party. God will bless you.

“By the special grace of God, in February, we are going to the polls. The first election is to re-elect President Goodluck Jonathan for a second term. The second election will be the governorship election where our candidate, Wike, will emerge as the next governor of Rivers State.”

Buhari ‘ll take Nigeria 10 years back —Omehia

Sir Celestine Omehia is the former Governor of Rivers State. In this interview with journalists in Abuja, he gave reasons why Buhari should not be voted in as President. In his view, if General Muhammadu Buhari is elected president in 2015, his election would be tantamount to retrogressing the country.  Excerpts: 

By Chioma Obinna

DO you think that President Goodluck Jonathan is a match for Buhari in the coming 2015 election? 

I don’t have any fear about Buhari being the APC presidential
candidate. People are rating Buhari from his military achievements, but we are now talking about the democratic government of Nigeria.

If Buhari achieved anything, it was by the force of arms – the use of the army, the use of gun and so on. If you put Buhari and Goodluck Jonathan in the same environment, you will see that their behaviour would be different. One was democratically brought up. The democratic ideologies in him are different from the military ideologies in Buhari.

Practical politics

Sir Celestine Omehia

Buhari has not learnt anything about democracy and more so, Buhari’s so called achievements in administration were not piloted by him. They were practically piloted by his second-in-command and the second-in-command unfortunately, is not his second-in-command now. He has a professor as his running mate. And we are not talking of academic work; we are talking of practical politics.

We are not talking of who will be tested in the laboratory, we are not talking about who will be tested in the farmyard; we are talking of democracy in politics. So, if the two second-in-commands are not the same, it then means that Buhari cannot do better than Jonathan.

But one thing is basic: Jonathan has had democratic experience from being deputy governor to governor, from being governor to vice president, being vice president to president. You cannot compare their experience in life in terms of democratic experience. You cannot compare their achievements. Put on the same scale, Jonathan will score 80 percent, while Buhari will score 20 percent in democratic achievements.

If you put them on the same scale, the vice presidential candidate of the PDP who was once a governor and vice president for some number of years will score much more than the intimidated vice presidential candidate of the APC. So, put the two together, Nigerians are matured enough and reasonable enough to think and know that Jonathan stands a better chance to give Nigerians what they need. Again, don’t forget that being the president for four years running; Jonathan has set several things in motion: several projects, several principles, and several ideologies that could keep Nigeria moving.

On the other hand, if Buhari is given the opportunity, he will set Nigeria ten years backward because we will start a new idea not from where Jonathan has started. He will go back and draw a plan that is different from what Jonathan has started. And in that case, Nigeria will be taken ten years behind the schedule. So, the issue of continuity comes to play.

I have always said the issue of continuity is important in Nigerian politics and in the Nigerian administrative system. Mind you, APC is only coming up with vendetta. APC has never said anything good about any other party. So, when they talk about what they can do for Nigeria, APC would always think of how to destroy what the PDP has set up to do and in that case, there would be a lot of abandoned projects, there would be a lot of wastage of our resources, there would be a lot of acrimony between the two parties. So, there would be no need creating such things.

Waste of resources

Nigerians are not good with continuity and that is what we want to avoid.

The APC has always talked of change. That takes me to the idea of APC – change, APC – change. What is there to change? They have never told you what they want to change. They will never come out to say these are the programmes they want to change.

In any case, who are the members of the APC now, properly so called members APC? They are all members of the PDP who abandoned the project and ran into the APC. And what are they going to change? Changing what they had already done? Take for instance, the campaign director of APC is a former PDP person. What is he going to change? He is going to change what he started in PDP. What it means is that ab initio, he was wrong in all he did in the PDP.

Masari is the governorship candidate in Katsina and he was a Speaker in the PDP. What is he going to change? Look at the former PDP chairman from Kwara, Baraje, what is he going to change?

Audu Ogbeh was chairman of the PDP, what is he going to change? Does it mean that all these PDP members who are in APC were failures and they now realise that they were failures and they want to make a change? It is never easy to change what you have done unless somebody else will change it. So, APC cannot change what they have done.

One major issue that would remain a problem for President Jonathan is the issue of insecurity, what is your take on this? 

The issue of insecurity is a common global phenomenon. Criminals are born every day. There are criminals all over the world and Nigeria is no exemption. What we must understand is that Jonathan did not create the insecurity in the north eastern part of Nigeria; therefore, it is the problem of Nigerians and not only Jonathan’s.

For Buhari to say he will end the insecurity immediately he takes over power, it then means that he is the creator of the situation. He knows the origin, he knows where it started and more so, he is from the north. Although he is from the North West, he is from the North; therefore, he created it to destabilize the administration of Jonathan.

Talking about insecurity, the people that are affected are Nigerians, therefore, he owes it a duty to help Nigerians and save their lives whether or not he is in power, whether or not the APC is in power. If they have the antidote to it, this is the time they should help instead of looking at Nigerians suffering and dying.

Suffering and dying

This is the time they should play their role in one way or the other. But the question is, what role have they played to end insecurity in Nigeria?

So, if they cannot proffer solution now, they have no solution at all even if they are in power.

The dust raised in Rivers state following the conduct of the governorship primary election is yet to settle. Are you confident that the PDP would have the day in the forthcoming election?

I am very sure of PDP winning Rivers state. I am very sure of that because primaries are always in this form. No primary election in Nigeria has ended and the loser agreed that it has ended.

There has always been the belief that the last is yet to be heard. Even till names are submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and even after that, people are still going to protest. So, it is natural in Nigeria. It is not the same thing when compared to other parts of the world where there are gallant losers.

In Nigeria, there are gallant winners, but there are no gallant losers. But one basic thing about Rivers state is that it is a PDP state. It has always been like that. People in Rivers state don’t really like going to opposition except the individuals.

When I left the PDP and joined the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), people joined me massively because of my personality as Celestine Omehia, because of their beliefs in my programmes, my ideologies and what I can afford them. So, people followed me and I still believe that the 2011 election was won in Rivers state by APGA led by me.

Why Gov Lamido is moving against Jonathan

Indications emerged, weekend, that Governor Sule Lamido of Jigawa State had openly rejected the re-election bid of President Goodluck Jonathan in 2015.

Although there had been speculations in the past that Lamido was unhappy with Jonathan over the way he had been treated by the leadership of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party and the president’s unfulfilled promises to the state, Lamido openly voiced his opposition to Jonathan’s candidacy at a PDP rally in Dutse on Saturday.

Apparently to send Lamido’s message loud and clear to the Presidency, the event which was held at the state capital, was transmitted live via a private television station with national coverage.

Again, to prove his anger against Jonathan, the organisers of the PDP event deliberately and carefully avoided displaying the President’s posters throughout the rally.

On the other hand, the campaign posters of the governorship candidate of the PDP in the state and those of other contestants for the state and national elections were conspicuously and generously displayed.

Besides, rather than await the President to present the flags to the PDP candidates as is the custom of the party, the governor went ahead to perform the event, apparently preventing Jonathan from performing the political tradition just before elections.

None of the candidates canvassed for support for Jonathan throughout the rally, which was well attended by the members of the party in the state.

Vanguard learnt from a top source in Dutse on Sunday that Lamido felt bitter and betrayed by both Jonathan and the PDP for not doing any tangible project in Jigawa State after he had risked his life and those of his family members to work for Jonathan’s victory in 2011.

The source pointed out that the refusal or the inability of Jonathan to undertake any of the four key projects, which he openly promised the people during his 2011 campaign had pitted the governor against the political leaders and people of the state.

President Jonathan, it was learnt, had promised to build a cargo airport in Dutse, rebuild broken federal roads abandoned in the state for over 20 years, construct a dam at Auyo and build a major waterworks in the capital, four promises yet to be fulfilled with less than two months to the next polls.

It was also revealed out of the N15 billion spent by state government on the building of the Duste International Airport, which Jonathan commissioned on October 21 this year, the Federal Government had only chipped in less than a billion.

A top source in the state confided in Vanguard that Lamido was being portrayed as a traitor by most of the citizens, who see him as supporting Jonathan for personal reasons but working against their interest.

Actress set to return to Nollywood with TV soap 'Koko’s Diary'

Nollywood actress, Anita Hogan is set to return to Nollywood. The actress who is married to her Dutch husband, revealed this in an interview with Encomium Weekly .

In the recent Interview, Anita speaks on her upcoming TV soap'Koko’s Diary', her marriage and the new Nollywood.

According to Anita,  the series 'Koko’s Diary'  is about the diary of a house help . Read excerpts;

When do we see you back on the screen now that you are in Nigeria?

I just finished shooting my soap, it is still in the process of being polished up and presented to television stations for airing. So, very soon, I will be back. I also participated in it.

I also have other talents in entertainment aside acting. There is a book I have been working on that is on the edge of being put out there so that people can have a feel of my personality. Very soon people who love me will start seeing me.

The industry you left five years ago is no more the same, how will you compare the industry you left then to what applies now?

I wouldn’t lie, the industry has seriously been upgraded. You can now see new faces, the industry is becoming an actual business, people are now taking acting serious. Before you could be an actress and still engage in other part time jobs. People who act now, do it as their major source of living.

Tell us about your soap, Koko’s Diary.

It’s about going through the diary of a house help. I looked at the society through the eyes of a house help. The help knows a lot of things, they are always available at home, they know all the children’s character, they know what oga is up to and so on. We have shot, we have done all the necessary things, it is now time to put it on air.

Funke Akindele survives cruel fate in Sababi

Although fate may defeat the efforts of virtue to avert misfortune, it cannot deprive us of the power to endure it with equanimity’

Funke Akindele’s production outfit, Scene One Production in conjunction with Adekaz Production Ltd presents a new Yoruba  movie titled ‘Sababi Eda’(Fate), fully subtitled in English.

Sababi Eda depicts the life of a single mother (Funke Akindele), and her struggle with fate.    She used to be a tomboy in  the village before she got engaged and relocated  to the city.

However fate played a fast one on her in her journey of life and she could not avoid it.  Her fiancée eloped with another woman, leaving her to cater for their only son.
She relocated to the village to start a new life and established herself as a fashion designer in the village.
Sometimes life has a cruel sense of humour, giving you the thing you have always wanted at the worst time possible, this aptly describes the turn of event when she met Odunlade Adekola.

Sababi Eda, is a story well- narrated by Funke Akindele, full of intrigue, suspense and humor. It stresses the fact that it is not in our power to love or hate for the will in us is overruled by fate.

It parades a robust cast including Madam Saje, Alhaji Adenrele, Ayanfe Adekunle ( Monsuru), Razaq Owokoniran ( Wazo) and more.

EPL braced for bumper Boxing Day

While professional footballers in the rest of Europe sleep off their Christmas hangovers, the Premier League ploughs on regardless on Friday with a bumper schedule of traditional Boxing Day fixtures.

For the first time in the 2014-15 season, all 20 English top-flight clubs will be in action on the same day, with leaders Chelsea's home game against high-flying London rivals West Ham United the stand-out match.

Chelsea's professional 2-0 victory at Stoke City on Monday allowed Jose Mourinho's side to re-establish a three-point lead over champions Manchester City, who visit West Bromwich Albion on Friday.

The visit of fourth-place West Ham marks the start of a run of five games in less than two weeks, which includes an FA Cup third-round tie at home to second-tier Watford on January 4.

Mourinho's side also remain in contention in the League Cup and the Champions League, and midfielder Nemanja Matic believes they can go all the way in all four competitions.

"I think it's possible. We have a chance," the Serbian told several British newspapers.

"I don't want to say that we're going to, but we're going to try. We have quality. We will see if we can do. But I am confident, I believe in my team, my teammates, so everything is possible."

Belgian winger Eden Hazard is a doubt for Chelsea after hobbling off against Stoke, with Brazilian playmaker Oscar a potential candidate to replace him.

West Ham, meanwhile, will be boosted by the return to fitness of midfielder Mark Noble, who has missed the last four games with an Achilles problem.

Injuries are a major concern for second-place City, who will be without all their senior strikers – Edin Dzeko, Stevan Jovetic and top scorer Sergio Aguero – for the trip to West Brom.

But they can equal a club record of nine successive wins if they prevail at The Hawthorns and manager Manuel Pellegrini believes that after a mid-autumn wobble, his side have rediscovered the form that swept them to the title in May.

"We are playing now with the intensity and style of play we always do," said the Chilean. "Again we have players in high level of performance and good moments.

"We are trusting in what we do so, in the same way maybe we played in a poor way two months ago, we are doing very well."

Third-place Manchester United saw a six-game winning run come to an end in a 1-1 draw at Aston Villa last weekend, but confidence at Old Trafford remains high ahead of Friday's visit of Newcastle United.

Manager Louis van Gaal has granted his players Christmas Day off, rather than obliging them to train, and captain Wayne Rooney says that he and his teammates are eager to repay the Dutchman's benevolence.

"We're not training on Christmas Day this year because we'll be spending it at home, which will be good for the foreign players and those of us with children," said Rooney, who has two young sons.

"It must be strange for the new players to have more games than ever over Christmas, having had the time off previously.

"They have to adapt and be ready for it, while being aware of the fixture list. I'm sure they'll be prepared for the upcoming games."

United trail Chelsea by 10 points and City by seven, while West Ham are a point further back, and there is a glut of teams vying to break into the top four.

Fifth-place Southampton, who are two points behind West Ham, visit Crystal Palace on Friday, having snapped a damaging run of five straight defeats in all competitions by winning 3-0 to home to Everton last weekend.

North London rivals Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur are both two points below Southampton.

Arsenal host Queens Park Rangers, while Tottenham visit bottom club Leicester City.

Liverpool, runners-up last season, are a further five points off the pace in 10th place, but after last Sunday's last-gasp 2-2 draw with Arsenal, manager Brendan Rodgers said he remained confident of a top-four finish.

On Boxing Day Liverpool travel to third-bottom Burnley, who trail Palace on goal difference in the battle to escape the relegation zone.

Mourinho demands Christmas show from Mikel, others

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho wants his players to show the world why they are currently on top of the Premier League table when they host West Ham United on Friday.

Monday night’s 2-0 victory at Stoke City ensured that Chelsea would be the league leaders over Christmas and they will maintain that position with a positive result at home to their London rivals on Boxing Day.

Chelsea then travel to Southampton two days later and have a league clash with Tottenham Hotspur and an FA Cup third-round date with Watford on the horizon as well.

The other big leagues in Europe have all shut down for the festive season, but Mourinho is relishing his team’s role as busy holiday entertainers.

“At this moment the German guys are on the beach, the Spanish guys are in the Maldives getting sun — everybody else is doing that,” he said.

“But in this country you play on the 22nd, you play on Boxing Day, you play on the 28th, you play on New Year’s Day. There is no Christmas, just football, and I think the players deserve respect.

“The supporters all around the country give them that respect because every stadium is sold out. And the way to do it is with the kind of professionalism my players have shown.”

Last season, West Ham defied the odds to hold out for a 0-0 draw at Stamford Bridge and they will be hopeful of at least repeating that result given that they are in fine form, sitting in fourth place in the table.

Chelsea are likely to recall playmaker Oscar for the occasion, especially as Eden Hazard was hurt at Stoke, and midfielder Nemanja Matic is adamant that whoever plays will be ready to perform.

“We have to be focused on our game,” he said. “We are ready for everything and if we play like we are used to playing, I’m not scared of anybody.

“I have seen them in a couple of games this season and they’re very strong. We expect a hard game, but we go into it with confidence, which is very important.

“We know what we have to do, we know we play for Chelsea and especially at home, we have to take three points.

“We are confident, we are top of the table and we will try to continue like this.”

West Ham manager Sam Allardyce regards the 0-0 draw in January as a significant turning point in his fortunes.

The Hammers had been battling against relegation at the time and a number of fans wanted co-owners David Sullivan and David Gold to sack him.

“I might not have been here had we lost,” Allardyce admitted.

“Chelsea can beat you five or six on their ground. On the back of our recent results, it would have made life for the owners even more difficult to get behind me.

“But that’s not water under the bridge — that’s water under the sea. That’s in the Atlantic Ocean it’s that far gone. We are a completely different team and we are enjoying our football this year.”

Allardyce has also been boosted by confirmation that midfielder Alex Song will not be going to the Africa Cup of Nations in January.

The on-loan Barcelona man has been omitted from the Cameroon squad, although Diafra Sakho and Cheikhou Kouyate will be away representing Senegal.

Despite their absences, Allardyce has decided there is no need to dip into the transfer market next month.

“The rest of the squad are more than capable of coping for that short period of time,” he said.

Centre-back James Tomkins, who has a hamstring problem, is West Ham’s only injury doubt, with midfielder Mark Noble passed fit to return after an Achilles injury.