Spurs vs Chelsea Preview and Betting Tip

This Thursday’s London Derby is an extremely important one, especially for Jose Mourinho and Tottenham. Spurs vs Chelsea kicks off at 8pm and you can catch all the action from the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium live on BT Sport. The hosts have drifted out to 13/5 after their woeful 1-0 defeat at Brighton. Chelsea, now under the stewardship of Thomas Tuchel, are 11/10 to follow up their dominant 2-0 home win vs Burnley. Will Tuchel’s total football prove too much for Mourinho’s more cautious philosophy? Whatever happens, it should make for interesting viewing.  

Pressure Rising On Jose

Back in September Spurs hammered Southampton 5-2. Two weeks later they went to Old Trafford and stuck 6 past Manchester United. On November 21 they beat Man City 2-0, making it 4 wins in a row, and that result sent them to the top of the table. However, since then they have won just 3 of 11 games. They lost to Liverpool twice, Leicester and most recently Brighton during that run and Jose’s mood has darkened. He was bristling in his post-match interview after their last defeat and while he didn’t name any names, it was clear he wasn’t best pleased with Gareth Bale’s performance or application.

Serge Aurier stormed out of the stadium after being subbed at half time vs Liverpool and you could also see that Mourinho wasn’t happy with Matt Doherty during the game (although you can’t really blame him for that one!). It is plain to see that the cracks are starting to show in the Tottenham dressing room and this has been a recurring theme during Jose’s last few jobs. He is always quick to point the finger of blame at the players, both privately and in the media, and in the modern game that doesn’t get results.

Harry Kane’s injury has made matters even worse for Tottenham and their season is in real danger of fizzling out. After this match they are at home to West Brom and then a trip to Man City follows. These fixtures will not only define Spurs’ season, it could also determine whether Mourinho keeps his job. He is into as short as 6/1 to be the next manager in the PL to lose his job and I wouldn’t be surprised if he is gone by the end of the month.

Is Tetchy Tuchel The Right Man for Chelsea?

Thomas Tuchel got his first win since taking over from Frank Lampard vs Burnley last weekend. Two players that had mostly been overlooked by Frank Lampard, Azpilicueta and Alonso, returned to the side and they got the goals that gave Chelsea the win. Tuchel’s tactical approach bewildered a Burnley side who had been in fine form and it was an impressive performance. It showed that Tuchel has the football brain needed to succeed at Chelsea, but does he have the temperament?

Tuchel is known for having fractious relationships with his superiors at previous clubs. His issues with Leonardo at PSG were well documented while he also fell out with the board at Borussia Dortmund where he was eventually sacked. Tuchel is not afraid to have an opinion and it will be fascinating to see how he gets on with Marina Granovskaia and Roman Abramovich at Chelsea.

Chelsea have no injury worries coming into this match so Tuchel has options. He played 3 at the back vs Burnley with Alonso and Odoi as the wing backs and the system worked well. Tammy Abraham started up top but he only lasted a half. Pulisic came on, Werner played through the middle and Tuchel could stick to that system vs Spurs. Havertz, Mount and Ziyech will be battling it out for a starting spot up top and it seems that Jorginho and Kovacic are the preferred partnership in the engine room.

Tactical Battle

These two teams met earlier this season and played out a 0-0 draw. Chelsea had more of the ball but the best two chances fell to Tottenham. Mourinho is likely to use the same defensive 4-2-3-1 system that worked in that game and Tuchel will be hoping that his 3-4-2-1 enjoys more success than Lampard’s 4-3-3 did against Spurs’ low block.

Spurs vs Chelsea: Premier League Form

Spurs’ form has been on a downward spiral, both at home and away. They have taken just 4 points from their last 4 home games. Chelsea’s recent record on the road is poor. They have lost 4 of their last 5 away games and Thomas Tuchel will be keen to improve his team’s performances away from Stamford Bridge.

Injuries are starting to pile up for Jose Mourinho’s team. He will be without first choice full/wing back Reguilon while Kane and Lo Celso are out too. Tanguy Ndombele limped off with a nasty looking ankle injury at the weekend, a very worrying sight for Spurs’ fans as he has become a key player for them in the middle of the park.  

Chelsea To Give Jose And Spurs The Blues

The way events are unfolding at Spurs has to be hugely concerning for their supporters. Things usually start falling apart for Jose during his third season in charge but he is ahead of schedule this time. With Aurier out of favour and Reguilon and Ndombele injured he may have to move Moussa Sissoko to midfield and start Matt Doherty on the right. If that  is the case it will be an area that Tuchel will be very keen to exploit.

Chelsea looked really good vs Burnley and they will be brimming with confidence after that display. The Clarets gave Man Utd, Man City and Liverpool plenty to think about but Chelsea brushed them aside with ease. They have the creativity up top to cause Spurs lots of problems and if they take their chances I can see them winning by a couple, piling even more misery onto sad Spurs. Chelsea -1 in the handicap market at odds of 7/2 with Betfair is the recommended bet.

Spurs vs Chelsea Tip: Chelsea -1 @ 7/2 Betfair

Key Quotes

Jose Mourinho: “I believe because the players are men and men have feelings, in spite of being top professionals, football is full of example of teams and players individually being in an incredible moment of confidence and in other periods they are suffering from self-esteem, a bad result, a bad performance.”

Thomas Tuchel: Speaking after the Burnley win – “The performance itself, for me was a very complete performance. We had to be strong defensively against an unbelievable amount of long balls. We never lost patience, controlled the game, created a lot of chances, played it high up the pitch. So many good things.

Dave Stevos