The Spurs travel to Stamford Bridge to face off against Chelsea, in what is to be their third time playing each other in a month.
Tottenham will have a bone to pick with the Blues as the last time these teams clashed, Tottenham were dumped out of the EFL Cup semi-finals over 2 legs, losing 2-0 and 1-0 respectively.
In the Premier League, Tottenham have fared better, with their latest win over Leicester City moving them up to 5th spot, and within sniffing distance of the top 4. The 3-2 comeback win over Leicester was as exciting as anyone could have hoped for, with a Steven Bergwijn double deep in injury time sealing all 3 points for Spurs.
As for the home team, Chelsea will be looking to break out of their recent streak of underwhelming results in the Prem, which include a loss to top dogs Manchester City, as well as 2 draws in a row to Brighton. Their last win in the Premier League came against Aston Villa all the way back in December.
Chelsea have received a massive injury boost ahead of the London derby. This is because first-team stars Reece James and Trevoh Chalobah are stepping up their recovery from injuries. The Blues have been reeling from a defensive injury crisis since the end of last year, with multiple senior stars ruled out for lengthy periods thanks to injuries and Covid concerns. With Chelsea’s players currently on a two-day break granted by their German coach, Tuchel is sure to be happy about the recovery process undertaken by Cobham products James and Chalobah.
Antonio Conte will have to make do with the absence of Christian Romero, Heung-Min Son, and Eric Dier as the trio struggle to recover from injuries that could potentially keep them out of action until mid-February. Other than that, the Tottenham manager could be forced into making rotations in the squad, as fatigue could be a factor to look out for following the Leicester game, and may dampen the overall strength of the Spurs’ squad.
While Chelsea has not had the best runs of form in recent times, their performances against the Spurs are nothing to sneeze at. 4 wins out of their last 5 games, with a draw, certainly do favour Chelsea when going up against their fierce rivals.
Also, with the injury boost presented by the return of their sorely missed defenders, Chelsea are sure to put on a show, and potentially hand Antonio Conte his first defeat in the Premier League as Spurs manager.
We say that Chelsea takes this game 2-1, as Chelsea look to solidify their top 4 finish, but with the Premier League title as good as lost to them.