Hugo on 'massive, potentially decisive week'

Hugo Lloris admits our upcoming fixtures are the type that footballers live to play in.

Over the next seven days, we face three massive games.

We start the trilogy with a trip to Stamford Bridge to face Chelsea on Wednesday night before we welcome north London rivals Arsenal to Wembley on Saturday.

Then, we have the test of Borussia Dortmund in Germany next Tuesday, as we look to press home our advantage in the Champions League round of 16 and book our place in the quarter-finals of the competition.

“Of course, we can’t wait,” our captain admitted. “Two derbies in one week and then the Champions League after that, it’s just the type of games that we all want to play but it has to be like that every week, no matter who the opponent is.

“We have to take each one game-by-game. Of course, playing in derbies is always exciting for the players and for the fans. We know the importance of the games ahead of us. This week is massive and it could be decisive for the rest of the season.

“Without a doubt, we will be trying to compete as always. We will give our maximum on the field and we will see what the result will be - it’s up to us.”

We begin at the Bridge and Hugo believes both teams have something to prove after each side suffered defeat at the weekend.

While we succumbed to a 2-1 loss at the hands of Burnley in the Premier League on Saturday, Chelsea were beaten on penalties by Manchester City in Sunday’s Carabao Cup Final.

“After the defeat against Burnley, we need to bounce back,” Hugo explained. "We need to focus our efforts on Chelsea.

“We need to increase our level after the last performance against Burnley, increase our aggressiveness and our intensity.

“It is the same for Chelsea though. They lost the final, so it’s a big game for both teams.”