Tottenham vs Chelsea Preview

Just as we all started believing in Tottenham, relying on Tottenham and to an extent trusting Tottenham, they returned to being just good old Spurs. Their 3-0 loss to Patrick Vieira’s Palace was less emphatic as it was sad.

Harry Kane doesn’t look like he’s all there and before the cavalry start to attack me, consider this: I’m not suggesting that under Nuno Espirito Santo Spurs play the most attractive and end to end football…but they certainly look like a side well coached and clearly playing to a plan and system.

Their use of width with their fullbacks is admirable and I’ll certainly doff my cap to that. Harry Kane made no secret of his desire to win European silverware and it was well documented that Spurs were constantly in favour of the English talisman delaying his departure from the club.

If only Spurs had a chance to cash in on this and look to replace him under their new manager in the northern hemisphere summer…

It doesn’t get any easier for the North London side though, a derby game against a rival who come into the fixture with a golden form line as well as what seems to be a golden strand which runs through and creates a powerful spine for the team. Of course, Japhet Tanganga’s red card would change the game, and so I wouldn’t read too much into the scoreline. The defensive solidity of Spurs has been apparent in the league this year thus far – keeping clean sheets against City, Wolves and Watford – and whilst I think they will have the credentials to keep it respectable and force Chelsea to work for it, I still can’t see them completely shutting out Thomas Tuchel’s side.

As a point of departure, Saul Niguez is an incredibly talented player. I will concede that he struggled on debut against Aston Villa – yet another indication of the level and competitiveness evident in the English league – but his quality is still undeniable.

The fact that football fans on social media lamented at his performance and proclaimed that their respective clubs dodged a bullet is somewhat premature if you ask me. What I did enjoy though was a tweet by one fan suggesting that Saul was in desperate need of a ‘road to Damascus’ moment…

Anyway, the importance and value in a solid holding defensive midfielder has been well documented in the modern game. N’Golo Kante has long been the posterchild of such a suggestion, but Thomas Tuchel is blessed with options at Chelsea. Kante, Saul, Jorginho and Kovacic would all stake steady claims for the position in probably most (if not all) clubs in the league.

The value in the traditional ‘holding 6’ not only lies in the screening of your defence to break-up play in the centre of the park, but also having a player who can singlehandedly transition your side from defence to attack. This also increases the pace, effect and ability to build-up play or immediately outlet wide and look to go forward. Yes, I am aware this is an oversimplification of the role and responsibility – but you get the point.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Chelsea Football Club is a complete and dangerous team under Thomas Tuchel. They came away from their fixture with Aston Villa as 3-0 winners and, you wouldn’t be completely exaggerating had you felt it was hard fought. However, Villa attempted 18 shots at Stamford Bridge – only Liverpool have had more attempts at the Bridge in a league game – and yet still their resolute defence, silky transitions and robust attacking talent seemed largely undeterred.

A lot has been said about the importance of keeping players like Lukaku fit, and I couldn’t agree more!  Well, why would you when your striker has a 100% shot to goal conversion rate in the box?