Prediction: Chelsea vs Tottenham

Verdict: Both teams to score

Best Odds: 10/11

Bookmaker: Unibet

Meeting for the third time in the space of a fortnight, Chelsea will welcome London rivals Tottenham to Stamford Bridge on Sunday afternoon.

Chelsea

Starting with the hosts, while Chelsea might have gained a host of plaudits since bringing Thomas Tuchel to the club 12 months ago, the defending European champions are in the midst of a recent Premier League blip. Failing to pick up any momentum as they had to settle for a 1-1 draw away at Brighton earlier in the week, the former Borussia Dortmund boss has also seen any chance of a title charge go up in smoke. Suffering what looked like a crucial 1-0 loss away at Manchester City last weekend, the west London outfit now find themselves sat 12 points adrift of Pep Guardiola’s runaway squad. Remarkably, it should be noted that Chelsea have have won just one of their previous seven Premier League contests, a run that stems back to December 11th. However, despite their top-flight issues over recent months, Tuchel’s men will be boosted by their success over Spurs during the past fortnight. Including a 2-0 win at Stamford Bridge, Sunday’s hosts booked their spot in the final of this year’s EFL Cup with a 3-0 aggregate romp against their local rivals.

Team News

Chelsea will once again be without the defensive quartet of Trevoh Chalobah, Ben Chilwell, Andreas Christensen and Reece James here.

Likewise, keeper Edouard Mendy remains on international duty with Senegal at the Africa Cup of Nations.

Tottenham

As for the visitors, managing to mount what was nothing short than a sensational comeback on the road in midweek, there is no doubt that Tottenham will be desperate to build off of those positives. Somehow coming from two goals down in the dying seconds at the King Power, Antonio Conte’s men snatched a stunning 3-2 win against Leicester and the mood in their camp will be at a red-hot high. Now sat just a single point adrift of finding a route back into the top-four, the one-time Chelsea boss will now be calling on his side to find some stability. Crashing out of the EFL Cup earlier in the month thanks to that 3-0 aggregate hammering against Sunday’s opponents, Spurs will be more that aware that they face a stern test here. With Wednesday’s win away at Leicester just Tottenham’s second away victory from their last six contests outside of north London, it should also be noted that they have failed to win any of their last 11 straight meetings against Chelsea.

Team News

In what is a real boost for Tottenham this weekend, England international Eric Dier has been given the green light to make his return at Stamford Bridge.

However, the duo of Son Heung-min and Cristian Romero are once again expected to miss out here.

Key Factors to Consider

• Knocking Spurs out of the EFL Cup earlier in the month, Chelsea have won each of their last three meetings against Sunday’s opponents.
• Likewise, Tottenham have failed to win any of their last 11 straight meetings against Chelsea, a run that stems all the way back to 2019.
• The Blues have lost just a single matchup against Spurs at Stamford Bridge since 1990.
• Wednesday’s 3-2 win away at Leicester was just Tottenham’s second away win from their last six away fixtures across all formats.
• Six of Chelsea’s last seven matchups in west London have finished with both teams finding the net.

Conclusion

Dumped out of the EFL Cup thanks to that 3-0 aggregate defeat against Chelsea earlier in the month, Tottenham will be desperate to try and right that wrong on Sunday afternoon. Mounting that stunning comeback against Leicester in midweek as they snatched a last-gasp 3-2 defeat at the King Power, Antonio Conte’s men will be looking to build off of those positives. However, while the defending European champions might hold a rampant record against their London rivals, they have shown some recent issues on Premier League duties. Winning just one of their last seven top-flight contests, neutrals will be hoping for a lively affair at Stamford Bridge. With Chelsea seeing six of their last seven matchups in west London finish with both teams finding the net, we’re backing a similar outcome here.

Verdict: Both teams to score

Best Odds: 10/11

Bookmaker: Unibet