Tottenham vs Chelsea: predictions and tips
There will be fireworks when Tottenham and Chelsea face each other at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the EFL Cup last 16.
Tottenham’s hectic start to the new season continues on Tuesday night when they entertain a Chelsea team with a point to prove in the fourth round of the EFL Cup London derby.
A place in the fifth round is up for grabs, but both teams must recover from disappointing weekend draws in the Premier League.
Tuesday’s match will be Spurs’ sixth in 17 days as they continue to juggle domestic and Europa League commitments, while Chelsea will be aiming to improve on Saturday’s disappointing 3-3 draw at West Bromwich Albion in the Premier League.
Chelsea are by no means in top form themselves at the moment either, though, and if they defend as they did away to West Bromwich Albion on Saturday then they are unlikely to have another stunning comeback in them.
The Blues became the first Premier League team since February 2011 to avoid defeat after trailing by three or more goals at half time, and in the end had to be happy with the draw from that position.
Chelsea’s best performance of the campaign so far came last week in this competition when they ran out 6-0 winners over Barnsley. However, they have been knocked out at this stage of the competition in three of the last five years, including last season when they slumped to a home defeat at the hands of Manchester United.
Tottenham lost Heung-min Son to a hamstring injury against Newcastle, with Mourinho warning that the influential forward’s injury will be the first of many as a result of Tottenham’s packed schedule.
Reason for Tottenham vs. Chelsea predictions:
- Jose Mourinho is expected to make a raft of changes as he battles with fixture congestion.
- Chelsea have won all of the last four meetings with Spurs, including a 2-1 Premier League triumph at Stamford Bridge in February.
- Four of Chelsea’s last 10 League Cup meetings with top flight opposition have ended in 2-1 victories.
- These rivals have met on 166 previous occasions, with Chelsea boasting 72 wins to Tottenham’s 54. There have been 40 draws.
The two sides also met in the 2015 final, with Chelsea winning on that occasion, and Spurs have only made it past the fourth round once in five seasons since then.
Both sides have been involved in high-scoring games already this season, with Spurs’ five matches producing 17 goals, and Chelsea bettering that with 18 in four.
The Blues’ defensive frailties were again evident as they had to come from 3-0 down to draw 3-3 with West Brom on Saturday, while Spurs have yet to keep a clean sheet this season and have fallen behind in three of their matches.
They have played 12 times since the most recent goalless draw in November 2015, and those matches have produced 37 goals.
Tuesday’s match will be their 11th League Cup meeting in total, with Chelsea edging the head-to-head record five wins to three in this competition.
It is difficult to know what to expect from this match given the unusual circumstances in which it will be played, just two days after Tottenham’s last outing.
Our Prediction: Tottenham +1.0 @ 1.9
