Neither of these two fierce London rivals are where they want to be right now, so can either get back to winning ways?
Chelsea vs Tottenham Hotspur match preview
Chelsea against Tottenham Hotspur is always a red letter fixture in any Premier League season, although both are in desperate need of victory in this Thursday night extravaganza to salvage this season.
The Blues kick off down in ninth place, 12 points below their visitors, needing to put together a winning streak to conclude this campaign if they’re to sneak into Europe.
Having been smashed 5-0 at Arsenal last mid-week, Mauricio Pochettino’s team battled back from 2-0 down to earn a draw at Villa Park on Saturday night, with Noni Madueke and then Conor Gallagher the scorers.
They thought they’d completed the comeback in the 95th minute, Axel Disasi peeled away celebrating, only for VAR to disallow the goal, penalising Benoît Badiashile for a foul.
So, while Chelsea are now winless in seven matches away from Stamford Bridge, they have won each of their last three Premier League fixtures at home, aiming to win four on the bounce for the first time since July 2020.
These victories have seen the Blues beat Newcastle 3-2, Manchester United 4-3 and, most-recently, Everton 6-0, with another high-scoring fixture likely here.
Meantime, Tottenham Hotspur make the 11.2 mile journey southwest following back-to-back defeats, seeing their Champions League aspirations gradually fade away.
On Sunday, Spurs found themselves 3-0 down by half time at home to Arsenal in the North London derby, only for goals from Cristian Romero and Son Heung-min to set-up a grand-stand finish, but the Gunners’ lead ultimately proved insurmountable.
This was the first time Ange Postecoglou’s side had been in action for 15 days, hammered 4-0 by Newcastle in their previous outing, putting in, by some distance, their worst display under the Australian that afternoon on Tyneside.
All of this leaves Tottenham fifth, seven points adrift Aston Villa in fourth, with this the first of two games in hand.
After this however, their remaining fixtures are Liverpool (A), Burnley (H), Manchester City (H) and then Sheffield United (A) so, despite still having to face the bottom two, their other three games, that are substantially tougher, could prohibit their progress.
The reverse fixture in November was one of the games of the season, with Spurs racing into an early lead but ending the night down to nine men, Romero and Destiny Udogie dismissed, with Nicolas Jackson’s hat-trick eventually seeing the Blues claim an unconvincing 4-1 win.
An equally entertaining affair seems likely at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea vs Tottenham Hotspur Tips
As alluded to, we’re forecasting another goal-fest, not least because the reverse fixture ended 4-1 to Chelsea.
The Blues’ 12 Premier League matches since 31 January have witnessed 56 goals, an average of 4.67 per game, with both teams scoring in ten of these fixtures.
Overall, 21 seperate Chelsea matches this season have met the criteria of 4+ goals and both teams to score.
On the flip side, Ange Postecoglou’s team are pretty entertaining too, with 12 of their 23 Premier League fixtures since Chelsea’s visit seeing both teams score and 4+ goals.
The last meeting between the pair at Stamford Bridge ended 2-2, concluding with the infamous Antonio Conte and Thomas Tuchel handshake, yes really! What different times we live in now!
We’re not just forecasting plenty of goals, but a fair few cards too, given that eight yellows and two reds were brandished in the reverse fixture.
In total, the last 17 Premier League encounters between the pair have produced 80 yellows and three reds, an average of 4.88 cards per 90, with both teams receiving multiple cards in nine of these meetings.
This season, Mauricio Pochettino’s team have collected multiple cards in 73.9% of fixtures, with Ange Postecoglou’s side doing so in 72.2%, including each of their last seven matches.
In terms of Cristian Romero, he’s been booked in both of his last two away appearances so, having been sent off in the reverse fixture, we’re forecasting that streak will continue at Stamford Bridge.
Cristian Romero to be carded and both teams to receive multiple cards
Chelsea vs Tottenham Hotspur
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