Tottenham vs Chelsea predictions and match preview

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Tottenham host Chelsea at Wembley on Tuesday evening in the League Cup semi-final first leg.

A defeat to Wolves aside, Spurs have been in rampant form recently, winning eight of their last nine domestic matches and scoring 24 goals in their last six games, including in a 2-0 victory over north London rivals Arsenal to reach this stage.

Meanwhile, Chelsea have won four of their last six games, but are really struggling in front of goal having scored just six goals during that time.

Read on for Tottenham vs Chelsea live stream options, team news, predicted XIs, stats and TV channel info.

When is Tottenham vs Chelsea?

Competition: League Cup

Venue: Wembley Stadium

Date: Tuesday, 8 January

Kick-off: 8:00 PM GMT

Match preview

Ignoring a disappointing 3-1 defeat at home to Wolves, Tottenham have been sweeping aside everything before them of late.

To reach this stage, Mauricio Pochettino’s side pulled off a famous 2-0 win away to Arsenal, a result which kick-started a flurry of goals for Spurs. Since that Emirates victory, Tottenham have won 6-2 away at Everton, 5-0 at home to Bournemouth, 3-0 away to Cardiff and 7-0 at Tranmere in the FA Cup.

Harry Kane has scored in each of his last five outings, while the likes of Son, Alli and Eriksen have all helped terrorise almost every defence put before them in recent weeks.

Chelsea, on the other hand, are finding things much tougher. Granted, Maurizio Sarri’s men have lost just once in their last nine outings across all competitions, dating back to a 2-0 win over Manchester City early in December, but the Blues have only scored 12 goals during that time and are labouring to results.

The saving grace for Chelsea has been the fact that they have kept five clean sheets across nine games, and that defensive solidarity will be vital against a Spurs side that is quite simply on fire at the moment.

Where can I watch live? 

Tottenham vs Chelsea is being shown live in the UK on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Football, channels 401 and 403 respectively for Sky customers and channels 501 and 503 respectively for Virgin Media users.

Does Pochettino really need a league cup win to prove he’s an elite manager?

Spurs haven’t lifted a single piece of silverware since winning this competition in 2008 but, back in November, Pochettino called for patience from supporters, insisting a trophy is ‘so close’.

Tuesday will be the Argentine’s 250th game in charge in north London and it would be ridiculous to dismiss his tenure as ‘unsuccessful’ just because he hasn’t lifted a trophy. However, the debate will always remain for as long as Spurs’ drought continues and when Pochettino does leave the club, whether that be in the summer, next year or in 10 years, he will ultimately be judged on how much he filled out the trophy cabinet.

The League Cup isn’t the top priority for any of the top six, but with Spurs now so close to a major final, Pochettino must be viewing this as a massive opportunity.

Head-to-head

Tuesday’s game will be the 162nd edition of this historic rivalry, with the two sharing very close records since their first clash in 1909.

Chelsea have 68 wins compared to 53 for Spurs, but the Blues have lost three of their last five meetings with the north London side, including a 3-1 Wembley defeat earlier this season.

Tottenham wins: 53 Draws: 40 Chelsea wins: 68

Team news

Jan Vertonghen and Mousa Dembele are both likely to be in contention for Spurs after months on the sidelines due to thigh and ankle injuries respectively.

Ruben Loftus-Cheek is unlikely to feature after departing early during Saturday’s 2-0 FA Cup win over Nottingham Forest with a back injury, while Cesc Fabregas appears to have played his last game for the club.

Predicted Spurs XI: Gazzaniga; Trippier, Sanchez, Alderweireld, Davies; Sissoko, Winks; Eriksen, Alli, Lucas; Kane

Predicted Chelsea XI: Kepa; Zappacosta, Rudiger, Luiz, Emerson; Jorginho, Barkley, Kovacic; Willian, Morata, Hazard

Squawka prediction

Chelsea are defensively solid right now, but Spurs are like a force of nature going forward and will be really hungry to reach the League Cup final and end their long trophy drought. In the first leg at least, they could have too much for the Blues to cope. Tottenham 2-0 Chelsea.

The post Tottenham vs Chelsea predictions and match preview appeared first on Squawka News.



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