English Premier
2024-12-08 - Tottenham Hotspur vs Chelsea
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: English Premier League
Sunday 8th December 2024 - Kick Off 4:30pm
This game is live on TV
Tottenham Hotspur
When you look at the Premier League table, you can see there is still so much Tottenham Hotspur can achieve if they can find consistency. However, another poor performance resulting in a very disappointing defeat at Bournemouth on Thursday saw the away fans turn on Ange Postecoglou and give the manager a piece of their mind.
In fairness to the Australian, he has handled things pretty well considering some of the 'thoughts' he would have had to deal with after the defeat at the Vitality Stadium. Ultimately Ange Postecoglou knows he is only going to be judged on the results and Tottenham Hotspur being in 10th place in the Premier League table is not good enough, even if they are just 6 points behind the top four places. The side are at home this weekend where they have a 4-1-2 record, while scoring 17 goals and conceding 7.
Tottenham Hotspur's remarkable 0-4 win at Manchester City is the only success in 6 in all competitions, which underlines the inconsistency problems. Last month they came from behind to crush Aston Villa 4-1 at home, but Spurs have failed to win their last 3 here in all competitions after losing to Ipswich Town and then drawing with Roma and Fulham.
Ben Davies has picked up a knock that is likely going to keep him out, but Cristian Romero is expected to return. Otherwise this is the same squad that travelled to Bournemouth with the likes of Mikey Moore and Micky van de Ven hoping to be back before Christmas.
Chelsea
The solid job being done by Enzo Maresca as manager of Chelsea is still one that he feels is a 'work in progress' and he has spoken about this club being the 'dominant' English one in the years ahead. However, Enzo Maresca refuses to call Chelsea a genuine title contender this season and even the players are refusing to entertain questions about that with so much football still to play.
Progress being made cannot be ignored though and Chelsea look a strong challenger to return to the Champions League, which is the major ambition of the season. The Blues are 3rd in the Premier League table and 7 points behind leaders Liverpool, but they are focusing on each game as it comes and Chelsea make this trip to the home of a serious London rival with a 5-1-1 away record.
Chelsea took advantage of some really poor Southampton errors in the 1-5 win at St Mary's on Wednesday and they have won all 4 games played in all competitions since the November international break. They have won 4 of their last 6 away games in all competitions, including the last 3 in succession, and Chelsea's sole loss in that run was at Newcastle United in the League Cup Fourth Round.
Reece James and Wesley Fofana look like long-term absentees for Chelsea, and Mykhailo Mudryk is expected to miss this fixture with an illness. The manager has been pretty consistent with his Premier League selection, and he is expected to restore the likes of Nicolas Jackson to the starting eleven.
Head to Head
Chelsea completed the Premier League double over Tottenham Hotspur last season.
The game hosted by Spurs descended into chaos for the home team as they were beaten 1-4 in a fixture that saw them having two players sent off.
Chelsea have won 5 of their last 7 visits to Tottenham Hotspur in all competitions.
Prediction
The question was asked on these pages about which Tottenham Hotspur team will turn up on Thursday and it was the Mr Hyde version of the side that basically shows little fight or quality.
Things always move quickly in football and it is strange to think that only two weeks have passed since Tottenham Hotspur thumped Manchester City 0-4 at the Etihad Stadium.
Nothing has gone right for Ange Postecoglou since then with back to back home draws against Roma and Fulham before the embarrassing performance in the 1-0 defeat at Bournemouth. Make no mistake, that scoreline could have been much, much wider if the home team had shown a bit more composure in the final third and the manager heard the frustrations and downright anger coming out of the away end at full time.
It is a big week for Postecoglou with this big London rivalry followed by a trip to Rangers in the Europa League where his former Celtic connections will not have been forgotten. Tottenham Hotspur have been hit hard by injuries at the back, which have not helped, but the attackers have not really been at their best and there is a lot of pressure on the team.
The defence is most definitely going to be tested by a Chelsea team that just scored five at St Mary's and who have won 4 in a row in all competitions. Enzo Maresca has gotten the squad firmly behind his plans and the quality in the final third will make Chelsea very dangerous, especially with the likes of Nicolas Jackson well rested.
The striker scored a hat-trick here last season as Tottenham Hotspur capitulated after having two men sent off, but that also means Chelsea have won 5 of their last 7 trips to face Spurs.
With the momentum that is behind them and with the home crowd feeling really edgy right now, you do have to wonder what kind of atmosphere would be created if Chelsea were to go ahead in this one. The Tottenham Hotspur players have shown little appetite for a fight during a run of 1 win in 6 games in all competitions and the manager is under increasing pressure.
All of this adds up to a tough day in the office for Tottenham Hotspur and especially against a Chelsea team that have enjoyed visits to this Stadium and who have been in good form since the November international break.
The only concern in backing Chelsea is that they have not been at their best when facing the stronger opponents in the League- they did beat Aston Villa last weekend, but that was at home and Chelsea were pretty disappointing in the 1-1 draw at Manchester United last month.
Chelsea have also lost to Liverpool and Manchester City and drawn with Arsenal so there is something for Enzo Maresca and his players to prove here.
In saying all that, they could not have really picked a better time to face Tottenham Hotspur- the home team are capable of putting it all together at any time which makes them dangerous, but the defending will have to be a lot better and the suggestion is that Chelsea will have too much for them in a potentially high-scoring game in North London on Sunday afternoon.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Tottenham Hotspur 1-3 Chelsea
FIXED ODDS BETTING TIP :
I'll back Chelsea to Win at 2.10 with BetFred
