Chelsea vs Tottenham Hotspur. Prediction and Preview. Probable Lineups, Team News, Stats, and more

Chelsea FC will host Tottenham Hotspur FC in the English Premier League 26th-round match at the Stamford Bridge Stadium. The fixture will take place on Friday, May 3, beginning at 00:00 IST.

Parimatch News will tell you everything you need to know ahead of the upcoming match.

Chelsea News & Current Form: 

It has been eight years since the famous battle, when a goal by Eden Hazard leveled the score in the match against Tottenham, essentially crowning Leicester City FC as the champion of England. Mauricio Pochettino was the chief mentor of the Spurs in that match, and now the Argentine specialist finds himself on the other side of the barricade.

Chelsea fans have endured a significant ordeal this season, as the turbulence surrounding their team continues at its peak. The current form of the Blues doesn’t inspire much confidence, with only one victory in their last five matches. The proteges of the Argentine still have a shot at the UEFA Europa Conference League and even the UEFA Europa League, but to do so, they need to secure victories and hope for the misfortunes of their competitors.

They triumphed over Everton FC with a resounding 6:0 scoreline, but let’s delve into what happened in the other matches. A completely disappointing encounter against Sheffield United FC, where they squandered a win against the Blades in the final seconds, resulting in a 2:2 draw. 

There was also a defeat against Manchester City in the Emirates FA Cup, despite a decent performance, their own chances were poorly executed. Then they were effectively dismantled at the Emirates, as Arsenal FC left no room for the Aristocrats and defeated them 5:0.

Last weekend, the team shared points with Aston Villa FC (2:2): an auto goal by Marc Cucurella and an elegant strike by Morgan Rogers allowed the team of Unai Emery to gain a two-goal advantage, but only for the fourth time in Premier League history, Chelsea avoided defeat thanks to Noni Madueke and Conor Gallagher. Furthermore, the Londoners could have taken all three points, but VAR intervened in the episode with the third goal, convincing the head referee to call a foul on Diego Carlos.

Despite such results, the London club is faring much better in the second half of the season than the first. Pochettino’s efforts are not in vain, the Argentine specialist has built a young team capable of achieving considerable success.

Provided they address several glaring chronic issues, such as defense. Only 39-year-old Thiago Silva consistently demonstrates top-level performance, who has already announced his departure from the club at the end of the season. In 33 Premier League matches, Chelsea conceded 59 goals, a record high for them in the top division era.

On the other hand, the Aristocrats create dangerous opportunities as frequently as their opponents. Smoothly transitioning to the second issue, which has placed the club only ninth in the top division standings. Some of the players, particularly Mykhailo Mudryk and Nicolas Jackson, suffer from dreadful finishing. Cole Palmer, however, fares better in terms of conversion. In 28 EPL matches for Chelsea, he has scored 20 goals and provided nine assists.

Thiago Silva announced his departure from Chelsea FC at the end of season

However, the team’s results can partly be explained by the number of injured players, a curse plaguing the team for a long time. Backup goalkeeper Robert Sanchez, defenders Reece James, Malo Gusto, and Wesley Fofana, midfielders Enzo Fernandez, Romeo Lavia, and Lesley Ugochukwu, as well as forward Christopher Nkunku, are all sidelined. The participation of full-back Levi Colwill, midfielder Carney Chukwuemeka, and Raheem Sterling remains uncertain.

Tottenham Hotspur News & Current Form: 

At Tottenham, things have taken a slightly different turn: the team started the season very well, but stumbled in the second half. Unique approach of Ange Postecoglou has unlocked the team’s potential from a new angle. It turns out they can be very bold and vibrant, they just need to remain focused on their opponents’ goal at all times.

As a result, the London club occupies the 5th place in the Premier League table and, with 2 games in hand, trails the top four strongest teams by 7 points. Among the remaining opponents on the schedule are Manchester City, Liverpool FC, and Chelsea, who are unlikely to concede points, despite having weak tournament motivation.

Richarlison is back on the field after being sidelined for some time

Thus, the team still has a chance to qualify for the next UEFA Champions League campaign, but recent match results and the tournament situation suggest that the mission for Postecoglou’s charges is more likely to be unattainable than the opposite. In their last 5 matches, they have two wins, but it’s worth noting that those two wins came against outsiders – Luton Town FC and Nottingham Forest FC.

After being soundly defeated 4:0 by Newcastle United FC, the Lilywhites lost 3:2 to Arsenal in front of their home fans last weekend. The Gunners scored three times before halftime, so Cristian Romero and Son’s late goals had no impact. Tottenham can only boast of two wins in their last 10 away matches in the EPL and have only scored one goal in their last three, conceding eight in the process.

In 33 Premier League matches, the Spurs have scored 67 goals. There could have been more goals if not for injuries. Much of the absence was felt due to injury of James Maddison, he was unstoppable at the start of the season, but being sidelined disrupted the midfielder’s form. Most of the work falls on the long-time club leader, Son Heung-Min: in 30 matches, he has scored 16 goals and provided nine assists.

Like Chelsea, the Lilywhites lack solidity in defense: in 33 league matches, they have conceded 52 goals. Most of the goals Postecoglou’s men conceded came in matches against teams at the top of the table, the Australian specialist simply lacks reliable defenders for complete satisfaction.

Central defender Udogie, midfielder Skipp, reserve goalkeeper Fraser Forster, as well as Ryan Sessegnon and Manor Solomon, are all absent from the squad due to injuries. On the other hand, Brazilian Richarlison returned to action in the last round and is likely to take his place in the attack alongside winger Brennan Johnson. In addition, Postecoglou still has Dejan Kulusevski, Timo Werner and Son at his disposal.

Speaking of past encounters with future opponents, Tottenham failed to beat Chelsea at home in the 11th round match: the Aristocrats defeated the opponent 4:1, but due to numerical advantage. Ange’s men played the match with nine men and even in reduced numbers, created chances.

Chelsea form guide: W-D-W-L-L-D

Tottenham Hotspur form guide: L-W-D-W-L-L

Chelsea vs Tottenham Hotspur Head-To-Head Record:

• August 14, 2022: Chelsea 2 – 2 Tottenham Hotspur (Premier League);
• February 26, 2023: Tottenham Hotspur 2 – 0 Chelsea (Premier League);
• November 6, 2023: Tottenham Hotspur 1 – 4 Chelsea (Premier League).

Chelsea vs Tottenham Hotspur Predicted XI:

Chelsea’s possible starting lineup (4-2-3-1): Petrovic; Gilchrist, Chalobah, Badiashile, Cucurella; Caicedo, Gallagher; Madueke, Palmer, Mudryk; Jackson.

Tottenham Hotspur’s possible starting lineup (4-2-3-1): Vicario; Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Emerson; Sarr, Bissouma; Kulusevski, Maddison, Son; Richarlison.

Statistical preview of the match Chelsea vs Tottenham Hotspur:

• Chelsea’s First XI average age is 23.8 years, and Tottenham’s First XI average age is 26.6 years.
• The total value of Aristocrats’ squad is 928 mln euros, while the total of Spurs comes up to 777 mln euros.
• Robert Jones has been appointed as the center referee. The referee has already served 24 games this season, showing an average of 5 yellow cards and also whistles 23 fouls per game. 
• Tottenham won only 1 of the last 7 away matches of the season (3 draws and 3 defeats).
• Chelsea scored at least 2 goals in 5 home matches in the Premier League, however, in 4 of them they conceded at least 2 times.

What has been said before the match:

Chelsea’s Mauricio Pochettino, anticipating an emotional encounter against former colleagues at Tottenham And the opportunity it affords young players to step up:

“It will be emotional coming up against people who I worked with for a long period. I can’t hide my emotion for the club. But across 90 minutes we want to win and Tottenham are going to come here to try and win.”

“Tottenham were amazing because the challenge was to create a team that could compete with top sides. Now at Chelsea, we are in the process of building an exciting project that needs time and this is maybe the most challenging period.”

“Every single game is a challenge for us and now tomorrow we have a big challenge against a great team like Tottenham. It is going to be good, it is going to be a nice game to play.”

“It is a great opportunity for some kids to be on the bench and to have the opportunity to play. When this opportunity appears it is about being conscious and saying: “come on, step up”. And then it is about the kids saying: “we are here and we want to be there, we want to play for the first team of Chelsea”. I think it’s a great opportunity tomorrow and for sure it’s going to be a great game.”

“That is the challenge, it is a massive challenge, to have these potentially talented players competing in the toughest league in the world. With ups and downs, but of course they are learning. It is a process and this is a time where they are learning. We need to help and force them to realize the areas they need to improve and the areas where they can be better.”

Ange Postecoglou reflects on the continuous evolution of overcoming challenges:

“For us it’s a constant evolution of overcoming different challenges we’ve had since the first meeting. It’s fair to say that up until that point we were in good shape from a squad point of view. We had a good rhythm in terms of games. Since then we’ve had some disruptions in many areas and had to overcome those challenges, some well, some not so well. For the most part we’ve been fairly consistent.”

“Chelsea, their recent form has been very good. They’ve got some real talent and Mauricio is an excellent manager, so I think irrespective of all of that, you’re playing away from home, at their ground, it’s a London derby, so you know it’s going to be a tough game.”

“What I see is us playing football, measuring ourselves against the best. My players have got real belief in what we are doing. That’s all I need to see.”

Chelsea vs Tottenham Hotspur Prediction:

Both teams approach the London derby with a high level of motivation, each needs to fetch all 3 points. Having recently suffered a frustrating defeat to Arsenal at home, Tottenham continues to fight with Aston Villa for fourth place in the standings. Chelsea, in turn, is still in contention to get into the Conference League, for this reason, the Aristocrats will look to play vigorously at Stamford Bridge. The game is expected to be bright and open, featuring plenty of goal-scoring chances from both sides, since the rivals are focused on attack, while the defensive redoubts cannot be called reliable or stable. The opponents are ranked in the EPL’s top-7 most prolific teams, with the hosts averaging 1.91 goals per 90 minutes and the visitors 2.03. Oftentimes, they also get a response: the Blues have an average of 1.78 goals conceded per league game, while the Lilywhites concede 1.58. 11 of the Aristocrats’ last 12 games in the Premier League have seen more than 4 goals scored, while Spurs have seven such games over the same period. In addition, the meeting of the clubs in the first round gave as many as five goals. We expect teams to exchange goals. 

Parimatch News staff prediction:

We say: Both teams will score and the match total will be over 2.5 – Yes.

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