3 minute read
Tottenham's hopes of securing a top-four finish in the Premier League this season look to be slipping away, so a win away to Chelsea in the early hours of Friday morning is an absolute necessity.
Spurs are seven points adrift of fourth-placed Aston Villa, but the Lilywhites do have two games in hand on their rivals, as they have five games to cram in before the end of the season.
A failure to win at Stamford Bridge would almost certainly bring the curtain down on their top-four challenge, despite the overall positivity of their first season under the charge of Ange Postecoglou.
. What: Chelsea v Tottenham Hotspur
. Where: Stamford Bridge, London
. When: 05:30, Friday 3rd May 2024
. How to watch: Optus Sport
. Odds: Chelsea 2.15, Draw 3.75, Tottenham 3.00
Blues ended Spurs' flying start
Postecoglou got Tottenham off to a perfect start this season as they went unbeaten in their first 10 league games, before that run was emphatically ended by Chelsea winning 4-1 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in early November.
More recently the Lilywhites have won just one of their last seven league games on the road, with that sole victory a 4-0 drubbing of top-four rivals Villa at Villa Park.
Their last away game saw them swept aside 4-0 at Newcastle United, while they were three goals behind in the north London derby at home to Arsenal last time out, before putting up a fight to eventually go down 3-2.
Scoring has not been a problem for Spurs, but conceding has, with them having only kept one clean sheet across their last 16 Premier League matches.
With that in mind, both teams to score on Friday is as short as 1.30, with over 2.5 total goals and both teams to score priced at 1.44.
Postecoglou has a short injury list to deal with, with the only major blow in recent weeks having come with wing-back Destiny Udogie being ruled out for the rest of the season due to a thigh injury.
The Aussie may well opt to make changes to shake things up. Timo Werner came off just past the half-hour mark against the Gunners and could be replaced by either Richarlison or Brennan Johnson.
Yves Bissouma and Pape Matar Sarr will hope to be handed starts in midfield after coming off the bench against Arsenal, while Argentinian defender Cristian Romero is 2.50 to be shown a yellow card for the third time in five games.
Poch's Blues start to show their potential
Former Spurs head coach Mauricio Pochettino has struggled to get Chelsea ticking in his first season in charge at Stamford Bridge and they currently lie down in ninth place in the standings.
Their lack of consistency is highlighted by the fact that they thrashed Everton 6-0 in mi-April, but since then have been thumped 5-0 at Arsenal and fought back from two goals down to draw 2-2 at Aston Villa.
The Blues even had a late winner ruled out by VAR at Villa Park, so it would seem that they are in decent form, with that thrashing at the Emirates Stadium their only loss in their last 10 league games.
During that run they have beaten both Manchester United and Newcastle United, while also earning a 1-1 draw at Manchester City, showing that they can mix it with teams above them in the table.
Cole Palmer has been the undoubted standout performer for the Blues this season, having scored 20 Premier League goals to be in with a chance of winning the Golden Boot.
The former Citizens attacking midfielder was among the scorers at the TH Stadium earlier this season and is 2.25 to score at any time at Stamford Bridge, while Palmer is 6.00 to open the scoring.
Nicolas Jackson registered a hat-trick in the rout of Spurs earlier this season and the Senegalese striker is 2.62 to find the net on Friday, having scored just once in his last six league appearances.
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