Premier League: Chelsea entertains Tottenham in London derby and battle for 4th
Frank Lampard has his fair share of problems heading into this nerve-racking Spurs’ clash, adding more worry to him pulling off a result.
Chelsea will be hoping for a repeat of the reverse fixture where they took all the points at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Spurs were already under the guidance of Jose Mourinho at the time, but since then his side has improved, becoming one of the stronger top-six sides in the league.
The manager confirmed the job will be extra hard for those available for selection. The struggle without key midfielder N’Golo Kante was already noticeable in the United loss and will certainly show today. Thankfully, with one going out, a couple of players are being welcomed back to the pitch in return.
Tammy Abrahams and Ruben Loftus-Cheek are included in the squad but will not make the starting 11. They were absent from Chelsea’s Monday night loss. Lampard had to go with Olivier Giroud when the chips were down, and it almost paid off.
Lampard has had trouble repeating the form that got his side to third place in the standings. One win since the start of the year, collecting as little as five points from the six played proves just how much Chelsea’s lacking in depth and quality. Their struggle to defend has seen them concede at least two goals in their last three Premier League outings.
This further gives them a bad name in defence as they brag the stat for being the worst conceding team of the current top-six crop. Making it an even bigger concern at the back is the goalkeeper trouble they’ve been experiencing. Big question is, will Lampard opt to go with Willy Caballero over Kepa Arrizabalaga for one more week?