Chelsea vs Tottenham Match Preview
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Without question the biggest clash of this Premier League weekend will take place in London as arch rivals Chelsea and Tottenham square off at Stamford Bridge with the result set to have huge ramifications in the race for the top four.
Tottenham are in the box seat coming into this game due to the fact that they have a five-point buffer over Chelsea as the two clubs from England’s capital go into this game lying fourth and fifth in the Premier League table respectively.
That means for Mauricio Pochettino’s men the game takes on more of a ‘do not lose’ than opposed to ‘must win’ approach. Should they come away from West London with that five-point margin still intact then their top four aspirations will be further solidified.
At the same time though, he and his players will know that this game would represent the perfect opportunity to kill off Chelsea’s hopes of returning to the Champions League next season and also add even more pressure to their manager Antonio Conte.
A win for Tottenham would undoubtedly turn the screw on the Italian further with it looking that if Chelsea do fail to be a part of Europe’s top club competition next season then the former Juventus manager will be shown the exit door.
Therefore, the approach for Chelsea will be a lot different, for them it is pretty much a do or die encounter they have to win this game to keep their hopes of a top four finish alive. A win for them would keep them fifth come full time but they would undoubtedly be apart of the race once more.
There are undoubtedly high stakes going into this game for both clubs and had this preview been written a couple of weeks ago then even though Tottenham are away from home you would have to made them clear favourites.
They currently have the longest undefeated streak in the division at present, one that currently is at 12 matches. But they make the short trip across London without Harry Kane who picked up an injury in Tottenham’s 4-1 win over Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium.
The injury could not have arguably come at a worse time and although Spurs’ supporting cast have stepped up to the plate against both Bournemouth and Swansea in recent times, you do have to wonder if this could be a challenge that is too great for the likes of Heung min-Son and Erik Lamela.
At the same time Chelsea have not been that well blessed in the attacking third of the pitch as of late, Antonio Conte will have to decide whether to once more deploy Eden Hazard as a false nine or go for a more recognised forward in the shape of Alvaro Morata or Oliver Giroud.
Another interesting sub-plot will be whether or not Toby Alderweireld will play for Tottenham, he got as far as the bench in their F.A. Cup Quarter-final win against Swansea and this could be a good time as any to draft the Belgian international back in to the fold.
Tottenham have not won at Stamford Bridge since 1990 and Forebet predict that Chelsea will take another win over Tottenham at home.
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