Tottenham will be hoping to earn a place in their first cup final since 2015 when they face Chelsea in the Carabao Cup semi-final second leg on Thursday.
Spurs take a slender 1-0 lead to Stamford Bridge, with Harry Kane’s first-leg penalty giving them the edge over their London rivals. The winner of the tie will go on to face Manchester City in the final on February 24 with the defending champions taking a 9-0 lead into their own second leg on Wednesday.
Read on for Chelsea v Tottenham live stream options, team news, predicted XIs, stats and TV channel info.
When is Chelsea vs Tottenham?
Competition: Carabao Cup
Venue: Stamford Bridge
Date: Thursday, 24 January
Kick-off: 7:45 PM GMT
Match preview
After years of bad luck against Chelsea, Tottenham are starting to enjoy dominance over their London rivals.
Mauricio Pochettino’s men have won the last three games between the two sides in all competitions, including a first win at Stamford Bridge in 28 years last April. Spurs last won four in a row against the Blues between 1961 and 1963, where they managed five consecutive victories.
Tottenham will also be looking to reach a cup final for the first time since 2015, when they lost the League Cup final to their semi-final opponents.
Chelsea, on the other hand, will be looking to get their season back on track after a poor defeat away to Arsenal at the weekend.
Following the 2-0 reverse, boss Maurizio Sarri hit out at his Chelsea players, deeming them difficult to motivate, already fuelling speculation about the Italian’s future at Stamford Bridge.
After a good start to life at Chelsea, Sarri has endured a tough time of late with the Blues winning just two of their five games to start 2019, including two defeats to London rivals Arsenal and Spurs.
But Chelsea fans will be hopeful of their chances with Tottenham’s absentee list growing larger.
Where can I watch live?
UK residents can watch Chelsea’s game against Tottenham on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Football, channels 401 and 403 respectively on Sky and channels 501 and 503 respectively, for Virgin Media users.
Will Gonzalo Higuain be eligible to play?
Despite having the Carabao Cup semi-final on the horizon, Chelsea fans’ interest this week has been dominated by the club’s attempts to sign Gonzalo Higuain on loan from Juventus.
The Argentine forward has spent the first half of the season on loan at AC Milan but with Sarri crying out for a goalscorer, Higuain has reportedly arrived in London ahead of his proposed move to Chelsea.
The deal was initially held up by Milan’s aims to sign a replacement in the form of Krzysztof Piatek from Genoa, who is now reportedly set for his medical.
Chelsea were in a race to finalise the deal for Higuain by Wednesday’s 12 pm deadline in order to make the Argentinian eligible to face Tottenham on Thursday. However, in his pre-match press conference, Sarri admitted it would be “impossible” for Higuain to have been registered in time.
Sarri says it is not possible for Higuain to play against Tottenham tomorrow after the midday deadline passed before the move has been completed. #CHETOT
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) January 23, 2019
Can Tottenham cope without Kane, Alli and Son?
Chelsea may not have a better chance of beating Tottenham than they do on Thursday. Spurs will be without key players in Harry Kane, Dele Alli and Son Heung-min with the Englishmen out injured and the latter on international duty with South Korea.
Spurs just about managed to beat strugglers Fulham in the Premier League on Sunday with Harry Winks scoring the winner in injury time, though Alli was on the pitch for 86 minutes before having to go off injured.
Since the South Korean joined Tottenham in 2015, Spurs have played just two matches without any of Son, Alli and Kane involved, winning one and losing one – both in the 2016 League Cup.
The trio are also responsible for 75% of Tottenham’s goals in the Carabao Cup this season, with Kane’s strike against Chelsea in the first-leg the only thing separating the London rivals.
Why is the game being played on a Thursday?
When the draw was initially made, confusion reigned over when the second-legs would be scheduled throughout the planned week.
Both Manchester City and Tottenham were scheduled to play Premier League matches on Sunday 20, January, with games moved for TV coverage. As a result, neither could play their ties on Tuesday – a day usually scheduled for League Cup matches.
The EFL also had to take into account the draw for the fourth round of the FA Cup, which sees Man City face Burnley on Saturday – giving last year’s winners the early Wednesday slot – forcing Chelsea and Tottenham to Thursday.
Head-to-head
As previously mentioned, Tottenham have had the upper hand over Chelsea of late, winning the past three games in a row across all competitions. But Spurs are still behind the Blues in terms of the overall record, with the west London side winning 68 games compared to Tottenham’s 54.
Chelsea wins: 68 Draws: 40 Away wins: 54
Team news
The biggest team news for Chelsea is whether Gonzalo Higuain was signed in time to be registered for Thursday’s game. Following Sarri’s admission that it would have been impossible, the Blues will likely continue with Hazard in the false No.9 role
Meanwhile, Spurs are likely to continue with Fernando Llorente up front in the absence of Kane, Son and Alli, with Mauricio Pochettino confirming Lucas’ return to contention for one of the midfield roles.
“I hope that Lucas Moura is going to be good,” Pochettino told reports in his pre-match press conference.
“He was training today at the training ground but today we didn’t want to take a risk with him so we will wait until he is 100 per cent. Maybe for the bench, maybe he will start the game.”
Predicted Chelsea XI: Arrizabalaga; Azpilicueta, Rudiger, Luiz, Alonso; Kante, Jorginho, Kovacic; Willian, Hazard, Pedro.
Predicted Tottenham XI: Gazzaniga; Alderweireld, Sanchez, Vertonghen; Trippier, Eriksen, Winks, Rose; Lamela, Lucas; Llorente.
Squawka Prediction
Chelsea have not looked good of late but Spurs are without three key players and struggled to their win against Fulham last time out. 1-0 Chelsea. Chelsea to win on penalties.
Predictions & Betting Tips
Get the BetBull sign-up offer HERE – Ts&Cs apply. +18 only. BeGambleAware.org
1. Chelsea to qualify @ 20/21
With Tottenham’s selection problems, Chelsea have certainly been given the slight upper hand for Thursday’s game.
With Kane, Alli and Son all absent, the Blues won’t have a better chance of beating Tottenham – though it will still be tough.
The Blues have looked toothless in recent games and though their defence may not be tested, they will find it hard to break down Tottenham’s resilient backline. That said, they should do it, advancing when the tie is over.
Key Stat: Tottenham have been knocked out of the League Cup by London clubs in four of the past five seasons.
Tip: Chelsea to qualify @ 20/21 with BetBull – bet here
Odds correct at time of publishing (23/01/2019, 12:00)
18+ only. Ts&Cs apply. BeGambleAware.org
2. Both teams to score NO @ 10/11
Tottenham are without their most potent attacking players on Thursday and Fernando Llorente proved on Sunday he is more likely to score an own goal than one in the right net.
All four goals Spurs have scored against Chelsea this season have come from their absent trio, with Kane managing two.
Chelsea’s defence has looked weak of late, but they should hold off Tottenham’s misfiring striker with a place in the Carabao Cup final on the line.
Key Stat: Harry Kane, Son Heung-min and Dele Alli have been responsible for six of Tottenham’s eight League Cup goals this season.
Tip: Both teams to score NO @ 10/11 with BetBull – bet here
Odds correct at time of publishing (23/01/2019, 12:00)
18+ only. Ts&Cs apply. BeGambleAware.org
3. Eden Hazard to score first @ 7/2
With Kane absent and Hazard likely to continue as a false No.9, the Belgian is the best bet for first goalscorer having scored 12 goals in all competitions so far this season – including two in the League Cup.
They both came against Premier League opponents in Liverpool and Bournemouth and were winning goals on each occasion. Hazard has also scored five goals in 15 games against Tottenham.
Key Stat: Eden Hazard has scored more goals this season than any other player set to feature in Thursday’s game.
Tip: Eden Hazard to score first @ 7/2 with BetBull – bet here
Odds correct at time of publishing (23/01/2019, 12:00)
18+ only. Ts&Cs apply. BeGambleAware.org
Search squawkagaming on BetBull to follow all our tips for Chelsea vs Tottenham and more.
The post Chelsea vs Tottenham predictions and match preview appeared first on Squawka News.
From Squawka NewsSquawka News http://bit.ly/2MpnoES
No comments:
Post a Comment