With the games coming in fast and thick for the Premier League teams, both Chelsea and Spurs will know that each and every dropped point will be a missed opportunity. While Chelsea will be looking for a win after the dropped points against Sunderland, Spurs will be more than happy with a point against the high flying Chelsea side at Stamford Bridge to follow up their brilliant comeback win against Everton. While Jose Mourinho will be wary of tiredness creeping in the squad given the fixture pile up that Chelsea has in December, he will refrain from making too many changes.
Chelsea vs Tottenham Hotspur Team news:
Chelsea will be without the services of their star striker Diego Costa as he picked up his fifth yellow card of the season in the draw with Sunderland. Loic Remy is expected to start in his place with Didier Drogba most likely his back up in the Chelsea bench. Other than that Jose Mourinho has more or less the full squad to pick from as he has been luckier than his other counterparts when it comes to injuries.
Tottenham Hotspur on the other hand will be missing Kyle Naughton as he is suspended for this one. Also Danny Rose and Etienne Capoue are big doubts for this game with knocks. Danny Rose is continuing his recovery from surgery and also played an U-21 match recently but will not be in contention for this highprofile clash. Emmanuel Adebayor is suffering from a back injury and will be part of a fitness test just before the match tomorrow. Mauricio Pochettino, however has a tough job in picking his strikers as both Soldado and Harry Kane have been impressive in recent games. It is left to see if the manger does decide to use both the attackers and take the game to Mourinho or goes in for a more defensive approach.
Chelsea vs Tottenham Hotspur Stat Attack (From Opta)
- Chelsea have lost only one of their last 17 Premier League London derbies (W12 D4) – this coming in a 1-0 defeat at Crystal Palace in March.
- Jose Mourinho’s side have kept 11 clean sheets in their last 14 Premier League home matches.
- Tottenham have lost just one of their last six Premier League away games (W3 D2 L1).
- The Blues have won all three Premier League games that they have conceded the first goal in this season.
- Chelsea and Spurs have both won the most points from losing positions in the Premier League this season (9).
Facts complied from Eurosport.com
Chelsea vs Tottenham Hotspur Predicted Lineups:
Chelsea: Courtois, Azpilicueta, Terry, Cahill, Ivanovic, Matic, Fabregas, Hazard, Oscar, Schurrle, Remy
Tottenham Hotspur: Lloris, Davies, Chiriches, Vertonghen, Fazio, Mason, Bentaleb, Lennon, Eriksen, Kane, Soldado
Prediction:
Although Spurs have somewhat started to turn around their season with back to back victories against Hull City and Everton and have two in form strikers, Chelsea have an extremely strong squad in every department, which might prove too good for Pochettino’s men. We see this game ending in two ways, one being in favour of the Blues and the other ending in another goalless draw as Diego Costa’s absence might cause a loose end in the attacking department of the league leaders.