English Premier
2019-02-27 - Chelsea vs Tottenham Hotspur
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: English Premier League
Wednesday 27th February 2019 - Kick Off 8pm
This game is live on TV
Chelsea
A strong performance with an unfortunate penalty shoot out defeat in the League Cup Final has not been making the headlines for Chelsea as they should have done, but instead a bizarre incident at the end of Extra Time has taken centre stage. Maurizio Sarri determined he wanted to sub off keeper Kepa in favour of penalty saving expert Willy Caballero, but his young goalkeeper refused to go off and for a moment it looked like the manager was either going to self-combust or actually walk out on the club.
The incident has rumbled on since Sunday and on Monday evening it was announced that Kepa had been fined by the club and had apologised to his team-mates for the actions he took. Now Chelsea have to move on and get back on track in the Premier League as they host a London derby against long time rivals Tottenham Hotspur. The Blues are currently 6th in the Premier League table and 3 points off the top four places, although they have a game in hand. They bring in a 8-4-1 record from League games at Stamford Bridge into this live fixture.
Chelsea did beat Malmo in both Legs of their Europa League Last 32 tie which has set up a meeting with Dynamo Kiev in the next Round, but they have not scored a goal in their last 3 domestic fixtures. They saw their 6 game home unbeaten run come to an end in the 0-2 defeat to Manchester United in the FA Cup Fifth Round, but Chelsea have won 6 of their last 7 at Stamford Bridge after getting back to winning ways in the 3-0 success over Malmo.
The same squad that was available in Sunday's League Cup Final should be available in this one, although we are yet to see if Kepa's actions at Wembley Stadium will see him demoted from the starting eleven.
Tottenham Hotspur
It looks like a touchline ban could be incoming for Mauricio Pochettino after he angrily confronted Mike Dean and the officials following a 2-1 defeat at Burnley on Saturday. The result looks like one that has ended Tottenham Hotspur's chances of really being involved in the Premier League title race, but they can remain on course for a return to the Champions League by avoiding a defeat to one of the teams chasing them down in the table.
With 11 games left to play, Tottenham Hotspur fans have to be ruing the dropped points against Wolves, Manchester United and Burnley over the last two months which means they are 6 points behind leaders Liverpool. They remain 8 points clear of Manchester United in 5th place, but Tottenham Hotspur saw their away record drop to 11-0-3 following the defeat at Turf Moor.
Tottenham Hotspur had responded to back to back losses in the domestic Cup competitions by winning 4 in a row in all competitions, but that run was ended on Saturday. All of those wins had also come at Wembley Stadium and Spurs have actually lost their last 3 away games in all competitions and conceded at least twice in each of those defeats.
Harry Kane returned to the side on Saturday and scored against Burnley. He should be set to lead the line again, but Tottenham Hotspur are still waiting on Eric Dier and Dele Alli to return.
Head to Head
Tottenham Hotspur have beaten Chelsea 3-1 in the Premier League and 1-0 in the League Cup Semi Final First Leg at Wembley Stadium this season.
However Chelsea won the Second Leg 2-1 at home and eventually a penalty shoot out to reach the Final that was played this past weekend.
Chelsea's 30 game unbeaten run at home against Tottenham Hotspur going back to February 1990 came to an end last season when they were beaten 1-3 here in the Premier League.
Prediction
Two of the top six clubs meet on Wednesday evening and it is no surprise that the television companies have picked this London derby to be brought to those wanting to watch some Premier League Football on the box.
It is a very important game for both Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur as they chase Champions League spots with 11 games left to play.
Tottenham Hotspur are much closer to the top two than the three teams chasing them, but the loss at Burnley was a devastating blow to any potential title challenge they were going to be able to put together. Mauricio Pochettino confronted the officials who had made some questionable decisions, but in reality he must have been furious with his players who have made it a habit to get close and then manage to produce a terrible result to avoid really being involved for the big prizes.
They will head to Stamford Bridge looking to avenge their League Cup Semi Final exit and Tottenham Hotspur may be hoping to exploit any lingering issues in the Chelsea camp as the fallout of Kepa's refusal to be substituted in the League Cup Final continues to be felt.
It would be a surprise if Kepa starts this one as Maurizio Sarri may want to remind the players who is in charge, but this is not a game where the manager can take too many chances with his team selection. The positive performance produced by Chelsea on Sunday was not rewarded with silverware and Sarri will quickly be under more pressure if his team were to lose further ground in the race for the top four.
For the most part Chelsea have continued to find their best form at Stamford Bridge and I do think they will look at the suspect Tottenham Hotspur defence and feel they can exploit them. The 0-2 loss to Manchester United in the FA Cup was a blow for Chelsea, but they have won 6 of their last 7 here and that includes beating Tottenham Hotspur in the League Cup Semi Final Second Leg.
Tottenham Hotspur have also conceded at least two goals in their last 3 away games in all competitions and I do think the two teams can combine for at least three between them on Wednesday. 7 of the last 9 games played between Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur have hit that number, while 7 of the last 8 at Stamford Bridge between these rivals has done the same.
Picking a winner is not easy, but I think it could be an entertaining watch while we find that out and backing at least three goals here looks the play.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Chelsea 2-1 Tottenham Hotspur
