Spurs vs Chelsea | Monday 6 November | The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium | 22:00
I know it’s not ideal to have a feature fixture being played on a Monday night, let alone 10pm SA time, but this is the sort of fixture which deserves our full attention and commitment on Monday evening.
It’s a London derby with all of the thrills and frills, it’s seeing the team sitting at the summit of the League with a manager who’s surname many of you still cannot pronounce as well as an inconsistent Chelsea – just to give us so sort of consistency.
To Win (90 mins)
Spurs 11/10
Draw 51/20
Chelsea 43/20
Spurs
After a pretty average start to the season, I can’t seem to shake the notion that Spurs is going to get a result which will test their resolve and dent their confidence. They have had a brilliant start to the season under Ange Postecoglou, they are unbeaten and are playing football of the highest caliber! And yet I can’t help but think to myself, when will it end?
I know you are thinking I am just being pessimistic and hoping for the worst, and maybe I am, but the real question then is whether or not Spurs can maintain their current performance levels.
They have achieved the best start to any League managerial career under their Aussie coach and do not look as though they intend stopping. Admittedly I am enjoying the football they are playing, but I don’t think this will last forever and I think the bump in the road is here.
Will be against this Chelsea side? I’m not sure. This is not a straightforward game by any stretch of the imagination, and I think Chelsea might use this as a reaction after being embarrassed by Brentford.
What is impressive about Spurs is the clean sheet statistic they have earned, overall, they have only conceded nine goals – only City can better it.
It won’t be a massive score line, but I think Chelsea can cause the COYS a few problems.
Chelsea
Chelsea haven’t really gotten going under Mauricio Pochettino, but I must admit that the signs are there. I think they were the better side against Arsenal for large portions of the game and got caught out against Brentford’s counter punch and paid the price for complacency. All of these screams learning moments and I think it’s going to click for Poch’s men sooner or later.
I’m a big fan of Poch, I think he’s a smart manager who has no issues adjusting to the strengths of the team he is coaching. All of his sides have no issue finding the back of the net and with the addition of confidence they can really take the game to their opponents and ask them to keep up.
Spurs will play under the pressure of expectation, which I think helps the Blues. The speed they have upfront might ask questions of Spurs’ final line and given their fluid defensive approach I think the will be comfortable with the creativity of Maddison and son upfront.
Predicted Lineup:
Spurs: Vicario, Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Davies, Sarr, Bissouma, Kulusevski, Maddison, Richarlison, Son.
Chelsea: Sanchez, Disasi, Silva, Colwill, Cucurella, Gallagher, Caicedo, Madueke, Palmer, Sterling, Jackson.
Prediction: Chelsea (43/20)
I’m going for the upset – yes it would be an upset – and pick Chelsea to win. I think they have the style of play, manager, quality and approach to do that. If they get a good start on Spurs and create a bit of uncertainty in the stands, it translates to the field quickly and all of a sudden Spurs realizes they have to play to live up to expectation; I’m not sure they have done it before and against a side like Chelsea, if you give them a chance, they are happy to capitalize.
Ryan Liberty
@Mr_R_Liberty