Chelsea welcome Tottenham Hotspur to Stamford Bridge on Easter Sunday knowing that defeat would be a potentially irreversible hammer blow to their hopes of making the top four.
Spurs are well-poised to make it three seasons of Champions League football in a row, whereas the Blues – who are already trailing them by five points - risk missing out on Europe’s elite competition for just the second time in the Roman Abramovich era; in 2012, a sixth-place finish was counteracted by victory in the final over Bayern Munich, and it was only in 2016 that they failed to qualify at all.
As far as the form table is concerned, the Lilywhites should be relishing the opportunity to finally beat their London rivals away from home. Chelsea have lost three of their last six league games, a run which should make worrying reading for Antonio Conte, if indeed his heart is even still in the job at all. Only Liverpool and Manchester City are in better form than Tottenham, whose unbeaten domestic run stretches back to December.
This is a rivalry that has intensified in recent years, thanks in no small part to the infamous ‘Battle of the Bridge’ where Mauricio Pochettino’s men were pipped to the title almost two years ago after racing into a 2-0 lead.
Team news
It’s unlikely that there will be any last-minute shocks for Pochettino, who will have been well aware that he would probably be without Harry Kane. While he stopped short of ruling him out 100%, his vague return date of ‘April’ always meant that Spurs would need to have a back-up plan in the form of playing Heung-Min Son.
Rarely do managers receive any positive news from the international break, but England seem to have nursed Dele Alli through his knock. Toby Alderweireld also came through 90 minutes for Belgium in their 4-0 win over Saudi Arabia. Whether he starts could be telling given the uncertainty around his future as he continues to stall on a new contract. Harry Winks (ankle) is the only Spurs player who has no hope of featuring.
Chelsea are monitoring Thibaut Courtois (hamstring) and Andreas Christensen (fatigue), though neither are major doubts. The latter may be forced to step in considering David Luiz’s absence with an ankle injury. Ross Barkley (hamstring) is out.
Expected line-ups:
Chelsea: Courtois, Azpilicueta, Christensen, Rudiger, Moses, Fabregas, Kante, Alonso, Willian, Hazard, Morata
Tottenham: Lloris, Trippier, Sanchez, Vertonghen, Davies, Dembele, Dier, Eriksen, Alli Lamela, Son
Did you know?
It’s nigh on impossible for Spurs to visit Stamford Bridge without taking the psychological impact of their ‘hoodoo’ in west London into account. It’s been 28 years since they last won there, with a team featuring Gary Mabbutt, Chris Hughton, Paul Gascoigne, and Gary Lineker. The big news of the day – February 10, 1990 – was that Nelson Mandela would be released from prison, but in north London, the date carries a special resonance too.
Prediction: Chelsea haven’t fared too well against the big six this season, losing twice to City, drawing twice with Arsenal, once with Liverpool, and losing one and winning one against Manchester United. They remain the only team to beat Spurs in the league at Wembley, which they achieved back in August thanks to a Marcos Alonso brace.
That said, Tottenham’s record away to the Premier League’s top sides is notoriously poor and under Pochettino, they have only won on the road against them once. Chelsea 1-1 Tottenham
