Chelsea host Tottenham Hotspur at Stamford Bridge in a pivotal Premier League encounter.
Victory or a draw would lift Chelsea up to eighth, whilst Tottenham can cut their deficit to fourth-placed Aston Villa to four points with a win.
Team News
Axel Disasi is ruled out for Chelsea with an injury suffered during training.
Thiago Silva (groin) and Carney Chukwuemeka (knee) have also been sidelined for this match but Raheem Sterling (back) is a doubt for selection.
Robert Sanchez (illness), Malo Gusto, Ben Chilwell (both knee), Levi Colwill (toe), Reece James, Lesley Ugochukwu, Christopher Nkunku (all hamstring), Enzo Fernandez (groin) Wesley Fofana (ACL) and Romeo Lavia (thigh) remain ruled out.
Tottenham will be without Timo Werner for rest of season after he suffered a hamstring injury in their North London derby defeat to Arsenal.
Ben Davies (calf) is also sidelined but Oliver Skipp (knock) could be available for selection.
Fraser Forster (foot), Destiny Udogie (quad), Ryan Sessegnon (hamstring) and Manor Solomon (knee) remain absent
When is Kick-Off?
Chelsea host Tottenham at Stamford Bridge on Thursday 2 May at 7:30pm BST, live on Sky Sports in the UK.
Stat Attack
- Chelsea have lost one of their last 10 league meetings against Tottenham (W7, D2, L1).
- Tottenham have failed to win any of their last five league visits to Chelsea (D2, L3).
- Chelsea have scored two goals in six of their last seven home games against Tottenham in all competitions.
- Mauricio Pochettino’ Blues have claimed seven points in four league matches at home to London rivals this season (W2, D1, L1).
- Tottenham have claimed six points on the road in five London derbies this season (W1, D3, L1).
Prediction
Having played a match of two halves at Aston Villa with a sloppy wasteful first-half in contrast to a dominant clinical second-half to earn a point, Chelsea need to play more consistently like they did in that second half if want a shot at finishing sixth..
Their injury crisis though does need serious addressing because to have barely a dozen senior players available at this break is a major concern, especially if want to push for European qualification because they can’t afford to pick up more injuries here.
Tottenham meanwhile were clinically outplayed in the first half by Arsenal with some sloppy defending from set-pieces, but they at least mounted a decent second-half fightback to fall short which will give them confidence coming into this game.
Turning to this game, if Spurs play like they did in the second half last weekend and cut out the defensive mistakes, I can see them taking the win because Chelsea can’t afford to take too many risks but this could be a close game if the hosts dig in defensively.
Prediction: Chelsea 1-2 Tottenham
Result: Chelsea 2-0 Tottenham
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