A midweek London derby beckons as Tottenham make the trip across the capital to face bitter rivals Chelsea on Thursday night.
These two sides played out an utterly bonkers encounter in N17 last November, with the contest serving as a watershed moment in Ange Postecoglou’s debut season. Spurs have never played with the same verve since that 4-1 defeat packed with red cards and crippling injuries.
The Lilywhites were beaten in Sunday’s North London Derby despite staging an impressive second-half resurgence, and they now face an uphill battle to secure a top-four spot given their remaining fixtures.
Chelsea have endured a campaign of indifference during Mauricio Pochettino’s debut season, but have a knack for toppling their London rivals no matter the circumstances.
After falling to a 5-0 defeat at Arsenal last Tuesday, Chelsea fought back to earn a point at Aston Villa on Saturday and they could’ve walked away with all three hadn’t VAR intervened at the death. The Blues remain tough to beat on home soil, and they still have an outside shot of securing European football for next season.
Here’s 90min’s preview of the game.
Chelsea vs Tottenham H2H record (Last Five Games)
Current form (all competitions)
|
Chelsea |
Tottenham |
|---|---|
|
Aston Villa 2-2 Chelsea – 27/04/24 |
Tottenham 2-3 Arsenal – 28/04/24 |
|
Arsenal 5-0 Chelsea – 23/04/24 |
Newcastle 4-0 Tottenham – 13/04/24 |
|
Man City 1-0 Chelsea – 20/04/24 |
Tottenham 3-1 Nottingham Forest – 07/04/24 |
|
Chelsea 6-0 Everton – 15/04/24 |
West Ham 2-2 Tottenham – 02/04/24 |
|
Sheffield Utd 2-2 Chelsea – 07/04/24 |
Tottenham 2-1 Luton Town – 30/03/24 |
|
Country |
TV channel/live stream |
|---|---|
|
United Kingdom |
Sky Sports Premier League, Sky Sports Main Event, SKY GO Extra, Sky Ultra HD |
|
United States |
Peacock |
|
Canada |
fuboTV |
Thiago Silva, who will leave the club at the end of the season, limped off at Villa Park on Saturday night and is a major doubt for Thursday’s game.
He’s one of several players Pochettino is set to be without for Tottenham’s visit. Reece James, Romeo Lavia, Ben Chilwell, Enzo Fernandez, Lesley Ugochukwu, Malo Gusto, Carney Chukwuemeka and Wesley Fofana are all out.
Raheem Sterling, Levi Colwill, Robert Sanchez and Christopher Nkunku are doubts, but each will be assessed ahead of the contest.
Chelsea predicted lineup vs Tottenham (4-2-3-1): Petrovic; Chalobah, Disasi, Badiashile, Cucurella; Caicedo, Gallagher; Madueke, Palmer, Mudryk; Jackson.
Timo Werner is unlikely to feature after picking up a hamstring injury in the North London Derby. There could be a reshuffle in Spurs’ frontline as a result, with Son Heung-min starting wide left and Richarlison returning to the team to start up top.
Destin Udogie is out for the remainder of the season after undergoing thigh surgery. Ben Davies should continue at left-back.
Udogie and Werner join Ryan Sessegnon, Fraser Forster, and Manor Solomon on the sidelines.
Tottenham predicted lineup vs Chelsea (4-3-3): Vicario; Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Davies; Bissouma, Sarr, Kulusevski; Johnson, Richarlison, Son.
These two have a lot to live up to given what occurred in the reverse fixture. We shouldn’t expect chaos to that degree on Thursday night, but the unpredictability which surrounds both teams means this should be a fun watch.
Chelsea so often get the better of their London rivals, and their record at Stamford Bridge in 2024 is impressive. Tottenham don’t tend to win at this ground, and they could succumb yet again on Thursday night.
Spurs are suffering from a lack of rhythm and have shown themselves to be somewhat predictable in the final third. Their vulnerabilities from set-pieces are obvious, too, and that’s an avenue the hosts will aim to exploit.
Prediction: Chelsea 2-1 Tottenham
READ THE LATEST PREMIER LEAGUE NEWS, RUMOURS & GOSSIP
