One of London’s biggest football rivalries resumes on Thursday evening when Chelsea and Tottenham face off at Stamford Bridge with much at stake for both sides. The latter will look to bounce back from Sunday’s 3-2 home defeat to Arsenal, putting pressure on Aston Villa in the race for the fourth and final spot in the Champions League.
Any form of European football would be good news for Chelsea, ninth in the table, but only five points behind Newcastle in seventh with a game in hand. The previous meeting between these two in the Premier League was one of the most ridiculously entertaining encounters of the season, with nine-man Spurs’ ultra-high effort ultimately costing them in a 4-1 defeat, with Chelsea somehow managed to undermine more. than in many of their eleven league defeats this season. Here’s how to watch the match and everything you need to know:
View information
- Date: Thursday May 2 | Time: 2:30 PM ET
- Place: Stamford Bridge-London
- Live stream: Peacock
- Chances: Chelsea +120; Draw: +300; Tottenham+180
Storylines
Chelsea: It will be a promising occasion for Mauricio Pochettino on Thursday evening, with the Argentine taking charge of his 400th game in English football, following spells at Southampton and Tottenham that were altogether more successful than his time at Chelsea to date. “That was one of the best decisions of my life to come to England and enjoy this great football country,” said the Argentinian. “Of course I feel really comfortable. It’s like home.”
However, it has been a difficult time for Pochettino of late, one not alleviated by an injury list that never seems to shrink. Chelsea will now be without 14 first-team players when Spurs come to west London, with Axel Disasi and Thiago Silva heading to the treatment room after impressing in Saturday’s draw against Aston Villa. The injury crisis means Thursday’s match will be “a great opportunity for some kids to get on the bench”, but Alfie Gilchrist could be the only youngster to make the XI.
Tottenham: After conceding two goals to Arsenal on Sunday with dead balls, the focus has once again turned to Ange Postecoglu’s refusal to hire a permanent coach. Considering Spurs have allowed in 12 from set-pieces this season – not counting own goals like Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg’s this weekend – there is clearly something that needs improvement in the league’s sixth-worst dead-ball defence.
Yet Postecoglu looks at the bigger picture. “I think I’ve answered this question and I don’t think it satisfies people, but no, I don’t see it as a problem. It’s something we’re working on along with everything in our game. There are much more important things we need to focus on right now in terms of the team we are building.
“I think people want to believe, and that may be true, that football is very prescriptive. You have an illness, here is the tablet and you feel better. I never believed that. I have always tried to do new things to create.” I have never worked in a prescriptive way and I certainly won’t do so now.”
Prediction
The only certainty when Chelsea and Tottenham meet is that there will be fireworks. Given the defensive state of these two teams, there is no reason to believe this won’t be the case again. CHOOSE: Chelsea2, Tottenham2
