Tottenham v Chelsea – Preview, Predictions and Best Bets

Tottenham hosts Chelsea in the English Premier League on Sunday. The Blues haven’t lost to Spurs since 2019 except on penalties and will hope to turn their poor season around. The hosts sit 11 points clear of the visitors having played a match more, making this a key fixture in the race for the top four.

Tottenham Form

Antonio Conte’s side have been in disappointing form for about four months. They’ve lost half of their past 14 Premier League matches including at home to Aston Villa and Arsenal with a 4-0 win at Crystal Palace sandwiched between those defeats. A 2-0 lead against Man City at home then turned into a 4-2 defeat.

They got a response with a 1-0 at Fulham and a 1-0 victory at home to Man City. A 4-1 thrashing away at Leicester followed before losing 1-0 at AC Milan in their Champions League round of 16 first leg. In their last match, they scored two second-half goals to beat West Ham United.

Tottenham Team News

Spurs remain without captain Hugo Lloris in goal so Fraser Forster will continue to cover. Rodrigo Bentancur and Yves Bissouma are out long-term so Oliver Skipp will play alongside Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg.

In attack, Son Heung-min netted from the bench against West Ham – just his fifth league goal of the season – and he could be recalled in place of Richarlison. Left wingback Ryan Sessegnon will require a late fitness test ahead of this match.

Tottenham Motivation

Playing Chelsea is always a huge game for Spurs and they will be highly motivated to get a rare win against The Blues. A win would open a 14-point gap and almost certainly secure a finish above their rivals.

Conte’s side is expected to sit off and wait for errors from Graham Potter’s side, before sending their front three away on the break.

Chelsea Form

The Blues are in truly dire form. Their last 10 matches across all competitions has seen just one win, with five defeats and four draws. After losing 2-1 with ten men at Fulham, Potter’s side went four unbeaten including a 1-0 win over Crystal Palace. Since then, they’ve drawn 0-0 at Liverpool and 0-0 at home with Fulham.

After a full week to prepare, Chelsea had a good first 30 minutes in a 1-1 draw at West Ham before things petered out. They then went to Dortmund and lost 1-0 despite having the last seven matches of this fixture but missing some decent chances. On Saturday, Chelsea were a mess in parts in a 1-0 home loss to bottom-placed Southampton.

Chelsea Team News

Graham Potter is without Christian Pulisic, N’Golo Kante, and Armando Broja due to injury. All of Reece James, Thiago Silva, and Kai Havertz will start after full or partial rests in the last match. The coach has to decide between Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Mateo Kovacic to partner Enzo Fernandez in midfield.

On the flanks, Mykhailo Mudryk is set to be recalled whilst Hakim Ziyech could also start. Mason Mount is set to drop down to the bench. Cesar Azpilicueta is set to miss out after suffering a concussion in the last match.

Chelsea Motivation

The Blues need a win to have even a small chance of a top-four finish. More than that, a defeat would be terrible for Graham Potter and could see him lose his job.

Chelsea have a big rivalry with Spurs and will want to avoid the humiliation of defeat. This feels like a ‘must not lose’ for the players and the coach. A more circumspect approach may be needed for an away match at one of the big six.

Key Stats

Chelsea have won 1 of their last 10 matches in all competitions (L5, D4)

CFC have failed to score in 10 of their last 14 matches (all comps)

Chelsea are winless in 7 away EPL matches (lost 3, drew 4)

Spurs have seen Both Teams to Score No in their last 4 home PL matches

Tottenham have lost their last 3 home EPL matches vs Chelsea

Verdict

This is a huge derby match that could go either way. However, Chelsea just looks a mess of late and it’s hard to see them winning on the road in this one. Backing a Spurs win makes more sense.