Preview of Tottenham Versus Chelsea in the Premier League
By Aaron Coe
There are any number of storylines available as Chelsea host Tottenham in Premier League action Sunday, the most important is the meeting of two good teams.
In 28 Premier League matches Tottenham Hotspur have only won once at Stamford Bridge. However, a win on Sunday would be twice in the last four seasons as Tottenham look to further even the all-time series with their London foe. More than a meeting of London rivals, Sunday is a meeting of the two hottest teams in the Premier League, with the winner ending the weekend in first play.
Tottenham v Chelsea Historically
Historically speaking Chelsea have held the upper hand over Spurs dominating the head-to-head record between the two clubs with Spurs only winning 27 of 117 games in all competitions. That 23% all time win rate versus Chelsea seems bad, until compared with the rate during the Premier League era, where Spurs have only won 7 times in 56 matches – 12.5%.
While the dominance between the two has historically favored Chelsea that has changed some in more recent history. Tottenham have won four of the last 10, which is considerably better than the historical average. Those four included three in a row and Spurs only Premiere League victory at Stamford Bridge back in April 2018, as Mauricio Pochettino’s Tottenham beat Antonio Conte’s Blues.
After those three straight Tottenham wins Chelsea won four straight meetings starting with a shoot-out win in the Carabao Cup back in early 2019. Now the shoe is on the other foot, as Spurs just snapped Chelsea’s winning streak against them with a Carabao Cup shoot-out victory. Maybe it is time for Tottenham to go on a little streak of their own against Chelsea like they are already doing in the league.
Top Teams on Form
When Tottenham face Chelsea, it really is a meeting of the top teams on form. Both teams have only lost once this season, as Spurs lost 0-1 to Everton opening weekend and Chelsea lost 0-2 to Liverpool on matchday 2. That means neither team has lost in league since September.
Chelsea have won three straight matches in league and are now unbeaten in 7. Tottenham have won four straight matches and are now unbeaten in 8. Spurs are undefeated on the road this season and Chelsea’s only loss was at home but as previously mentioned Stamford Bridge has not historically been kind to Tottenham.
Both teams have been scoring lots of goals on the season, Chelsea are joint leaders with Liverpool on 22. Tottenham are 1 back with 21 goals and the teams share an identical +12 goal differential. Tottenham are currently best defensively having shipped only 9 goals and Chelsea are tied with four others for second on 10. No other team in the league has a goal difference better than 8 – Aston Villa – demonstrating how much better Spurs and Chelsea have been this season.
Who to Watch?
Both teams are loaded with top talent and much of it new to the teams. Chelsea had a big spending summer and have had several players settle quickly for the club. The Blues attack is really led by Timo Werner, who has 4 goals and 3 assists in his first 9 Premier League appearances. Likewise, fellow summer signing Hakim Ziyech has a goal and is tied with Werner for the lead with 3 assists.
Chelsea gets goals from everywhere with defenders Kurt Zouma and Ben Chilwell combing for five goals already, to give you some idea of how potent their attack has been. Chelsea is so deep they have had 10 players score in the Premier League already this season and the 10 does not include Olivier Giroud or Christian Pulisic. Expect to see Werner and Tammy Abraham team up in a front three with one other attacker, with Werner and Abraham being the focal targets of the attack.
Tottenham counter with some firepower of their own of course. Spurs have a more concentrated attack with 16 of their 21 goals coming from Heung-Min Son (9) and Harry Kane (7). No other Spurs player has more than 1 goal in league, with five other players each scoring once. Things are equally top heavy for Tottenham from an assist perspective with Kane dominating the league with 9 and no one else on Spurs having more than 2.
Whereas Chelsea are getting production from all over, Kane and Son will be the focal point of Chelsea’s defense and it could slow Spurs attack. This means that game is likely to be won in the midfielder. Both teams have ball hawking defense midfielders and the one that can impose his will the most – N’Golo Kante or Pierre Højbjerg may make the difference in who wins and who losses the match.
Prediction and Watching the Game
Call us homers, but we have a feeling at HotspurHQ that something special is going on at N17 and will travel with Tottenham to Stamford Bridge. Just like back in 2018, Tottenham are winning 3-1, as Kane scores twice in the win.
To see if the prediction comes true, you can watch the game on Sky Sports Premier League and Main Event in the UK. For those in the States, you can catch the match on NBCSports or Telemundo.