It’s a Derby day as two London rivals clash today. Jose Mourinho led Tottenham Hotspur is set to host Chelsea as both teams fight to find a place in the top four spots of Premier League.
Chelsea stands at 8th position after accumulating 33 points in 21 games this season. On the other hand, Tottenham Hotspur has the same number of points as Chelsea but a better goal difference edges them to the 7th spot. It will be fair to say that both the teams have failed to find consistency this season.
Analysis
This will be Thomas Tuchel’s first Derby in England as he takes charge of Chelsea for the third time. His side is coming after registering a dominant 2-0 win against Burnley. Tottenham Hotspur has been in very poor form lately. Jose Mourinho’s side has lost both of its previous Premier League games. It includes 3-1 and 1-0 defeat against Liverpool and Brighton & Hove Albion.
Spurs were considered one of the challengers for the Premier League title this season. They had a good start to the season but failed to keep the momentum with them. The same is the case with Chelsea. Frank Lampard was axed from the manager’s chair and now Thomas Tuchel has the job to steady Chelsea’s sinking ship. Both the teams have collected 7 points from the previous 15 available to them. With Manchester City and Manchester United sitting at the top two spots, competition for the top four has heated up.
When and Where?
Chelsea is the visitor to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and the kickoff is scheduled tonight at 1:30 AM (IST).
Team News and Expected Line-up
Tottenham Hotspur
The biggest update here is that Harry Kane will miss this high-profile Premier League clash. The English international suffered ankle damage against Liverpool last weekend. On a positive note, Jose Mourinho is optimistic that the striker will be available for the next game. Apart from Harry Kane, other players who will miss the game due to injuries are Sergio Reguilon, Dele, and Giovani Lo Celso. Former PSG right-back, Serge Aurier, is set to be recalled back into the squad.
Expected Line-up: Hugo Lloris; Toby Alderweireld, Eric Dier, Joe Rodon; Matt Doherty, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Moussa Sissoko, Ben Davies; Steven Bergwijn, Carlos Vinicius, Son Heung-Min
Chelsea
Thomas Tuchel confirmed in his press conference that two first-team players might not feature due to recent knocks. These two are Kurt Zouma and Kai Havertz. Hakim Ziyech was rested against Burnley but he might be restored in the first XI for this game. No other injury concerns are there for the new Chelsea manager.
Expected Line-up: Edouard Mendy; Cesar Azpilicueta, Thiago Silva, Antonio Rudiger; Callum Hudson-Odoi, Mateo Kovacic, N’Golo Kante, Marcos Alonso; Hakim Ziyech, Christian Pulisic, Timo Werner
Head to Head stats: Tottenham Hotspur vs Chelsea
The previous encounter between the two teams ended up as a 0-0 stalemate. The visitors are undefeated in the last four league meetings against Tottenham. In three of these four games, they have managed to maintain a clean sheet as well. Jose Mourinho has failed to win a game against Chelsea in his last six meetings. His side has managed to draw three and lost three of these six games.
Differentials
Callum Hudson-Odoi – Chelsea
The youngster has been one of the positives for Chelsea this season. Thomas Tuchel deployed him in the wing-back role in the last game. From that position, he provided width and was a constant menace for Burnley. With Tottenham’s Sergio Reguilon injured, he might have another crack of a game on that wing.
Son Heung-Min – Tottenham
Harry Kane is out injured. This puts more responsibility on the shoulders of the South Korean international. He and Harry Kane have been an integral part of Spurs for a few seasons now. Son needs to step up in the absence of his skipper and lead the team to attack against Chelsea’s fragile defence. With Thiago Silva in Chelsea’s back four, Son will be hoping to make runs behind him and get on the goal side.
The 12TH Man Prediction: Tottenham Hotspur 1-1 Chelsea
Both of the teams would want a win. At the same time, they will be cautious to leave spaces behind. Harry Kane’s unavailability will be a huge miss for Tottenham. Chelsea is expected to have most of the ball in this game but the question is can they create chances regularly? We expect the game to not to have a lot of goals. 1-1 is what we predict for this big clash.
