Tottenham Hotspur vs Chelsea FC- Preview

It is the biggest derby of the season as the blues will be seen taking on spurs this Sunday. It will be the first time that the blues will be seen playing in Tottenham’s new stadium. This fixture had always been more than a football match as there were emotions and pride involved when these 2 teams clashed with each other and Sunday’s game will not be anything different. It will be also the first time that our ex manager Jose Mourinho would manage a London club and face his former club as London rival. As such, this fixture is now not only limited to a London derby but also a Jose derby.

Frank Lampard’s Press Conference

Key points taken away from Frank’s pre match press conference this week were; apart from Ruben Loftus Cheek there were no other players on the injury list. When asked about the current form of the blues, Frank mentioned that he did face such a run last year when he was at Derby, but it doesn’t mean that the boys should get caught up in this negativity. Rather they should try to keep pushing forward and try to do better in the upcoming games. Gaffer was delighted and excited when asked about facing Jose but he mentioned that it was more important that what this rivalry means to his players. Gaffer also stated about their ex manager Pochettino, who made them a big challenge for everyone in the Premier League and asserted that this fixture is always a competitive fixture irrespective of the standings and the form of either of the teams.

Finally, when asked about the selection issues of the starting XI for the game, Lampard stated that it is always hard to pick up the best XI as the competition among the group is very high, but the rules for selection remains the same i.e. selection is done on the basis of the performance of the individual players off the pitch in the training session.

Head to Head

Both the sides have met on 164 occasions in all the competitions with Chelsea registering 70 wins as compared to Tottenham’s tally of 54 along with 40 draws. The blues have some great recent memories of this derby and will be looking to do something similar this Sunday as well.

Predicted Line-up for Chelsea

The blues are expected to play in a 4-3-3 formation in Sunday’s clash against Tottenham. The gaffer would surely try to fix out the issues of our defense and stop the leakage of goals by the opponents. This is the team we can expect for Sunday’s clash:

Photo courtesy: www.buildlineup.com

Players to Watch Out For

1. Antonio Rudiger: It is a blessing in disguise for the team as this man is back in the playing XI and surely a lot is expected from him in the Chelsea’s backline. Having such a strong mentality, character and qualities, he will surely lead the defensive backline along with Azpi in Sunday’s clash against Spurs.

2. Tammy Abraham: The young academy prodigy of Chelsea and now a top goalscorer of the team, Tammy will surely try to produce goals in the upcoming fixture and try to break the deadlock of not scoring against the top teams in the league.

3. Mateo Kovacic: Our Croatian midfielder is in fine form and has produced big moments and goals for the team in the last few games. His role in the midfield would surely be a decider for the upcoming clash on Sunday. The fluidity and quality of Chelsea’s midfield will surely be tested in the upcoming clash and Mateo would play a big role as a midfielder in the team.

Keep The Blue Flag Flying High…!!!

- Mainak Mitra