How do you solve a problem like Tottenham? Ask Ange Postecoglou; he’s still working it out.
Another defeat to Bournemouth — Spurs’ sixth loss of the campaign already — and just like that, the honeymoon is over. Two weeks ago, they thrashed Manchester City 4-0 in their own backyard, but they followed up that result with two draws against Roma and Fulham, and that performance against Bournemouth was as flat as they come. And now they are now back to square one.
Their inconsistency has baffled fans and pundits. It’s a riddle as complicated as cracking the Da Vinci Code. Spurs better find an equation this weekend or they could get a hiding from an in-form Chelsea.
The Blues must be rubbing their hands together ahead of this London derby. They seem to have Tottenham’s number of late after doing the double over them last season, including a 4-1 thumping away from home.
Spurs have had four key players out injured, with first-choice centre-backs Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven missing for some time, and now Ben Davies has done his hamstring. So Radu Dragusin may have to line up with a makeshift centre-back. Usual starting keeper Guglielmo Vicario is out until February while star midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur is still serving his seven-match ban.
On top of all that, Spurs fans are starting to turn on Postecoglou. The fiery Australian coach had words with a few fans in the away end at the Vitality Stadium and you understand why they’re not happy. Tottenham have picked up seven points from their last six league matches and entered the weekend 10th in the table. They took Bournemouth’s best player for £65million and still lost 1-0 to the Cherries. Make no mistake, it could have ended up being 3-0.
Chelsea, on the other hand, have quietly zipped their way up the league table and are now second after eight wins, four draws and two losses. In their last three games, they’ve scored 10 goals and let in two. Things are clicking into place under Enzo Maresca after some earlier teething problems. His forwards are firing, with Christopher Nkunku, Nicolas Jackson and Cole Palmer all scoring in the past three games. What once looked like a series of individuals cobbled together now looks like a cohesive, settled team.
Still, Maresca has attempted to take the pressure off his side this week by insisting they’re not in the title race despite being second in the table. Instead, he sees Chelsea as a long-term project and that, in time, his team could “dominate” the Premier League in the next five or 10 years. We’ll see about that, but for now, his team have a run of very winnable fixtures. After the Spurs, they don’t face a traditional top-six rival until the end of January.
So far, they’ve faced Manchester City, Liverpool, Manchester United and Arsenal without tasting victory this season, but against the Spurs, it tends to be a different equation. In the last 10 Premier League fixtures against Spurs — stretching back five years — they’ve only lost once and conceded just six goals.
Postecoglou will hope to have Romero back for this one. He’s started training but is still doubtful for the game this weekend. Van de Ven appears still behind in his schedule. Wilson Odobert, Richarlison and Bentancur are the long-term absentees.
Other than Reece James and Wesley Fofana, who picked up a hamstring blow in the 3-0 win over Aston Villa last week, Chelsea have more or less a clean bill of health going into this derby. Maresca still may opt to shuffle things around after the 5-1 win over Southampton on Wednesday.
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Tottenham vs Chelsea odds
Venue: Tottenham Hotspur Stadium — London
Time: 4:30 p.m. GMT (11:30 a.m. ET), Sunday
Streaming (US only): Fubo (Get access | Save $30)
Form guide (league only)
Tottenham: 6-2-6, 20 points (10th); L-D-W-L-W
Chelsea: 8-4-2, 28 points (2nd); W-W-W-D-D
Match prediction
Tottenham 1-3 Chelsea
It’s hard to see anything other than an away win this weekend. The momentum of both teams are night and day. One team has injury problems galore and devoid of confidence. Another is second in the table and scoring for fun. This is a derby, so anything could happen, but Chelsea’s imperious record in this fixture should see them through again. Just as we saw last season when Spurs ended up with nine men, expect crunching tackles, goals and tension. This could be a cracker, but Chelsea should leave North London with three points.
More Premier League coverage
Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham Hotspur: A team making the same mistakes over and over again
Nicolas Jackson is Chelsea’s presser-in-chief – he has been crucial to their fine start
Premier League predicted line-ups: Who do our writers think will start in Gameweek 15?
(Photo of Destiny Udogie: Justin Tallis / AFP via Getty Images)
