Tottenham Hotspur will battle Chelsea on Tuesday night at Stamford Bridge with Premier League survival still very much on the line for the Lilywhites. After watching Newcastle United smack down rivals West Ham United 3-1 on Sunday, all Spurs need to stay up in the English top flight for next season is a solitary point against an even bigger rival that smacked them down 1-0 earlier this season (and the deficit shoudl have been even worse, based on how poorly Thomas Frank had them playing).
But it is a new era for Tottenham under Roberto De Zerbi, as the former Brighton manager has Spurs on an undefeated streak, rather than the winless streak they were previously on. Conor Gallagher and Rodrigo Bentancur are men reborn under De Zerbi, and even crucial stars like Pedro Porro and Micky van de Ven are performing significantly better.
On Tuesday night against Chelsea, though, the real X-Factor may not actually be the revenge game from Gallagher or even the potential return of James Maddison to the starting XI, as the No. 10 is likely another game away from being able to go longer in a match.
Tottenham need steel in midfield
No, the X-Factor could be another new face who is doing a lot better under Roberto De Zerbi, Joao Palhinha. Though the Portuguese international on loan from Bayern Munich has scored some important goals for Tottenham Hotspur this season and has shown up on the ball better than expected lately under De Zerbi, we all know his calling card is on the defensive end.
Against a Chelsea midfield of Moises Caicedo, Andrey Santos, and Enzo Fernandez, the steel Palhinha brings, his energy as a ball winner, and his ability to improve positionally in his reading of the game and progression under Roberto De Zerbi lately are all going to be crucial to Spurs getting a hard earned point on the road against one of the Premier League's more talented squads (even if they haven't shown that quality lately).
With Liam Rosenior out the door and Xabi Alonso soon to follow, Chelsea are more dangerous, and Tottenham need a defensive bulldog to quell that danger by snapping into tackles but also avoiding any major holes on the counter.
Joao Palhinha has been as solid as anyone on Tottenham since returning to the starting lineup under De Zerbi, and just as Spurs future in the Premier League is on the line, so, too, is Palhinha's future at the club as the brass mulls over buying him permanently at his age of 30. He can make a massive statement in his favor on Tuesday vs. Spurs bitter rivals.
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