Chelsea welcome Tottenham Hotspur to Stamford Bridge in a blockbuster Super Sunday clash ahead of the Premier League’s international break.
Should Liverpool fail to win their mid-afternoon clash at Crystal Palace, victory would see Chelsea climb to second.
Tottenham meanwhile can go fourth with a win heading into the international break.
Team News
Chelsea have no fresh injury concerns to report after Tuesday’s 1-1 draw at Brighton as Edouard Mendy (International duty), Andreas Christensen (Coronavirus), Reece James, Trevoh Chalobah (both hamstring) and Ben Chilwell (knee) remain absent.
Tottenham manager Antonio Conte expects to have Emerson Royal available after the full-back was substituted in their midweek win at Leicester with a knock.
Eric Dier (muscle) could also return but Cristian Romero (thigh) and Son Heung-min (calf) remain ruled out.
Stat Attack
- Chelsea are unbeaten in their last six league meetings against Tottenham (W5, D1).
- Tottenham have won just one of their last five league visits to Stamford Bridge (W1, D1, L3).
- Chelsea have kept three clean sheets in their last four home matches against Tottenham in all competitions.
- Chelsea have failed to win in two league games at home against current fellow top five opposition this season (D1, L1).
- Three of Tottenham’s last four away league goals have been scored in second half injury-time.
Prediction
With just one win in their last seven league games, Chelsea have certainly done well to grind out five draws which was particularly evident at Brighton in midweek, where they did look lacking in physicality despite their overall dominance.
Tottenham meanwhile have grinded out results in their last two league games played on the road which is a huge morale boost, yet Stamford Bridge hasn’t exactly been their kindest ground over the years so this will be a huge test of their progress under Conte.
This match though represents the third meeting between these two teams this month after Chelsea dominated both legs of their Carabao Cup semi-final, yet the Blues are playing their 15th match since early December so fatigue is clearly an issue for the hosts.
On that note, I feel like the first goal will be crucial because if Chelsea get on the front foot with the opener, they should kick on for the win, yet Spurs cannot be underestimated after their midweek comeback so I am going for a draw here.
Prediction: Chelsea 1-1 Tottenham
Result: Chelsea 2-0 Tottenham