Mauricio Pochettino hosts his former club Tottenham at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League, with the aim of closing the gap on Newcastle United and Manchester United in the European spots. Chelsea’s task has been made drastically more difficult as Axel Disasi and the departing Thiago Silva are the newest casualties, adding to the now 14-man injury list.
Tottenham are aiming for redemption after a derby day defeat to Arsenal, and a 4-0 battering against Newcastle, has left Ange Postecoglou’s side opening an unwanted gap between themselves and fourth-placed Aston Villa as the race for European football nears its climax.
Neither side was able to stop Arsenal’s title charge in recent weeks, but the two fierce rivals can seriously dampen one another’s league ambitions at Stamford Bridge this evening, as Spurs look for their first away win against Chelsea in six years. Follow live updates from the Premier League match, below and see our Chelsea vs Tottenham prediction here.
Maddison drops to the bench
After a quiet game against Arsenal, Maddison is named as a substitute with Brennan Johnson coming to fill his place. The Welshman isn’t as creative as the former Leicester midfielder, but does offer a more direct style of play if needed, with his smart runs in behind potentially going to cause problems for Chelsea’s defence.
Richarlison also gets his first start since February, with injuries causing the Brazilian to have a stop-start season. He has had a much improved second year with Tottenham, scoring ten league goals compared to his sole goal last campaign.
Nathan Edwards2 May 2024 19:20
Chelsea’s youthful bench
The average age of the Chelsea bench is 19.88 years old, and that also includes 31-year-old back-up goalkeeper Marcus Bettinelli. The most experienced player on the bench bar the keeper, is Cesare Casadei who has been brought on a couple of times in the Premier League but is yet to start a game for the club. If things get difficult for Pochettino, he is going to have to trust the youth.
Nathan Edwards2 May 2024 19:15
Chelsea vs Tottenham LIVE
Both teams were victims of controversial VAR calls in their last games, and it has left Tottenham boss Postecoglou losing his emotion in the sport at times. Read what he said after his side weren’t given a penalty against Arsenal.
Spurs: Postecoglou slams VAR after 3-2 derby loss: ‘I don’t celebrate goals any more’
Tottenham Hotspur boss Ange Postecoglou was left frustrated by VAR after their defeat against Arsenal damaged their hopes of a top-four finish on Sunday, 28 April. Dejan Kulusevski’s penalty shout was waved away before the Gunners broke and Havertz fed Saka to double the lead. A VAR intervention was needed to award Spurs’ second-half spot-kick after Declan Rice kicked Ben Davies. Postecoglou said: “Games are not refereed in the stadium anymore. They are refereed somewhere else and no one will convince me otherwise. “That’s why I don’t celebrate goals anymore. I wait for somebody down the road.”
Nathan Edwards2 May 2024 19:10
Chelsea vs Tottenham LIVE
Alfie Gilchrist starts for Chelsea, and what a moment for the Blues’ youth product. He got his first goal for the club in their last home game capping off a 6-0 victory against Everton, but today will be tasked with stopping Son. It is not an easy feat, but he will be as pumped up as anyone in that Chelsea line-up.
Nathan Edwards2 May 2024 19:05
Three memorable Chelsea vs Tottenham moments in recent years
This game has always been a close-fought rivalry and it has resulted in some crazy moments throughout the years.
1) Chelsea 1-2 Tottenham – 2008 League Cup Final
Spurs came back from behind to record an incredible 2-1 against their London rivals at Wembley. Although since they lifted that trophy they haven’t managed to do it since.
2) Chelsea 2-2 Tottenham – The Battle of the Bridge
After a shocking season for Chelsea, they stepped up to spoil Tottenham’s, as Eden Hazard’s late strike drew the game level and saw Leicester City complete an unimaginable title win.
3) Tottenham 1-4 Chelsea – Premier League 2023
I don’t think you can put this game into words, but we all remember. VAR, red cards, injuries, hat-tricks and a winning streak brought to an end. Let’s see if today can create its own magical moment.
Nathan Edwards2 May 2024 19:00
Tottenham’s last two games have seen them ship seven goals
Tottenham were also affected negatively by VAR in their last game, having a penalty not given by Michael Oliver as Bukayo Saka went up the other end and scored Arsenal’s second in a 3-2 win for Mikel Arteta’s side.
That was their first game in two weeks, and Postecoglou was probably relieved with the mini-break after his side were dismantled by Newcastle 4-0. Neither side is in great form and have shown they are also shaky in defence which means anything could happen.
Nathan Edwards2 May 2024 18:50
Chelsea vs Tottenham
Despite the pretty formidable record home record against Spurs, Chelsea’s form going into this game is far from convincing and should give Spurs fans hope they can get another historic win.
They had to produce a really strong second-half performance to come back against Aston Villa, and were then pretty unfortunate to get their last-minute winner taken away from them by VAR.
But there was no sympathy for the side in their previous game as they got battered 5-0 by Arsenal and got knocked out of the FA Cup by Manchester City in the semi-final the weekend before. There is no better way to get the fans excited again than a derby win, and the Chelsea fans will be dying for a result against Spurs.
Nathan Edwards2 May 2024 18:45
One win in 33 tries for Spurs at Stamford Bridge
Stamford Bridge has not been a happy hunting ground for Tottenham to say the least. They have only won once in their last 33 attempts, although the manager to deliver that win was Pochettino. It was a 3-1 victory in 2018, with Christian Eriksen and a Dele Alli brace overturning Alvaro Morata’s first-half strike, the only two players still contracted at either club that played in the game are Son and Davies.
Nathan Edwards2 May 2024 18:40
Mauricio Pochettino identifies reason behind Chelsea injury crisis with 14 players out vs Tottenham
Nathan Edwards2 May 2024 18:35