Chelsea vs Tottenham: Thoughts And Prediction

Chelsea FC will play host to Tottenham Hotspur this Wednesday in a much anticipated London derby. The unbeaten Blues dropped two points vs Sunderland over the weekend, while the Spurs staged an amazing 2-1 comeback against Everton.

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Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho will be keen to get back on track after seeing the gap between his team and Manchester City narrowed to six points. City dealt a huge blow to Southampton with a 3-0 win at St. Mary’s — a major confidence boost. The Blues still maintain a strong position at the top, but they will try their best to avoid slipping up again.

The last time the Spurs — managed by Tim Sherwood at the time — visited Stamford Bridge, they received a 4-0 thrashing. Goals from Samuel Eto’o, Eden Hazard and Demba Ba — who scored a brace — sealed their fate, so this memory should serve as extra motivation.

Tottenham are now seventh on the Premier League table, the victory against Everton saw them move up from the 10th spot. In-form striker Harry Kane has backed his team to beat Chelsea — who will be without their main man Diego Costa. Kane has already scored 10 goals for Tottenham this season, which comes as somewhat of a surprise.

"“We’re full of confidence. Obviously we are coming off three wins in a row now in all competitions, so we’ll take that confidence into the game on Wednesday.”“We’re looking to get the result. Obviously Chelsea are going to be trying to do the same at home, but they are missing their main man up front. So they have to change a few things, and we’re feeling good.”-Harry KaneSource: Daily Mail"

Team News

Chelsea youngster Nathan Ake is the only one on the injured list at the moment, but the Blues will be without Costa. The striker will serve a one-game suspension after picking up his fifth yellow card of the season, during the Sunderland match.

He is a huge presence up front for Chelsea, and his absence will surely cause some worry amongst the supporters. Mourinho doesn’t seem bothered though, and rightly so; his other strikers, Didier Drogba and Loic Remy are well capable of holding their own up front.

"“We don’t cry about injured players or about suspended players. If he’s suspended, he’s suspended. He can rest, he can be fresh against Newcastle. Against Tottenham, Drogba and Remy will have their opportunity to start the game. No problem, let’s go.”-Jose MourinhoSource: BBC"

Tottenham have six players injured to date — Vlad Chiriches (knock), Etienne Capoue (knock), Emmanuel Adebayor (back), Andros Townsend (ankle), Danny Rose (chest), Kyle Walker (groin).

Capoue, Adebayor, Townsend and Rose could be back in time for the clash. There is no timetable on the Chiriches injury, but Walker should be ready to go by the end of the week.

Prediction

Chelsea come into this game with great form, having won 10 games from 13 this campaign. Also, the last time the Blues lost a match (in any competition) was last season, in the Champions League Semi-final vs Atletico Madrid. They will also have the advantage of being at home, and Stamford Bridge is a fortress under Mourinho; Sunderland is the only team to beat the Blues at home during Mourinho’s Reign.

Tottenham have a poor record at the Bridge, they haven’t won there since 1990. However, they can take heart from the fact that Chelsea will be without Costa. Also, Roberto Soldado scored his first goal since March, this weekend, to win against Everton — this could be taken as a good sign.

The Spurs have picked up 11 points from their travels this season, and they are the fourth-best away team in the league as per soccerstats.com. They are also picking up momentum after winning on their last three outings.

Chelsea vs Tottenham — a game which usually never fails to excite — should live up to its name. Both teams will come in with great confidence, but I don’t see it developing into a high scoring match.

Final Score: Chelsea-2, Tottenham-1.

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