Chelsea-Tottenham Hotspur betting preview
A stern test awaits Chelsea’s title push when they host the London derby against Tottenham on this Saturday. Chelsea’s season has been marked by an unbeaten home run and solid defending. They have conceded 22 goals in 28 matches – the least by any team in the league.
For Tottenham, this is the first match of what could be termed as a gruelling March series. Their forthcoming EPL matches of this month are against Arsenal, Southampton and Liverpool, in that order. How they come out of this phase would determine their Champions League ambitions. A win against Chelsea will be a great fillip.
History and statistics are aligned against the Spurs though. They have not tasted victory at Stanford Bridge over more than two decades. The last time they scored an away win against Chelsea were in 1990 – much before the money-induced revolution that changed the Blues’ fate. The recent H2H statistics too spell doom for Tottenham. They have managed to win only two of the last 18 games against Chelsea – home and away combined.
Chelsea have been quietly confident against the Spurs: a confidence stems from the fact that the team’s previous defeat was in December 9, before 13 EPL games. Their worries centre on the strikers’ form. Fernando Torres has been a pale shadow of his former Liverpool self. Samuel Eto'o has done better; but only in comparison with Torres. The team almost always has been saved by the firepower of their midfield. Jose Mourinho would want his strikers to find form as the season trudges towards the business end.
Eden Hazard, Andre Schürrle, Oscar and Willian provide a man-to-man advantage for Chelsea in the midfield. They do not have any injury concerns. And their defence looks in great shape.
Spurs will miss Kyle Walker and Christian Eriksen. Emmanuel Adebayor and Roberto Soldado shoulder the difficult task of outsmarting the best defence in the league.
Chelsea-Tottenham Hotspur Prediction
A Chelsea win appears the most likely result for this match.
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