One of London’s great footballing rivalries is resumed on Thursday night as Chelsea and Tottenham face off at Stamford Bridge with plenty at stakes for both sides. The latter will be looking to bounce back from their 3-2 home defeat to Arsenal on Sunday and in the process put pressure on Aston Villa in the race for the fourth and final Champions League spot.
Any kind of European football at all would be good news for Chelsea, ninth in the table but only five points behind seventh-placed Newcastle with a game in hand. The previous meeting between these two in the Premier League was one of the most ludicrously entertaining encounters of the season, nine-man Spurs’ commitment to an ultra-high line ultimately costing them in a 4-1 defeat where Chelsea somehow managed to underwhelm more than in many of their 11 league losses this season. Here is how you can watch the match and all you need to know:
Viewing information
- Date: Thursday, May 2 | Time: 2:30 p.m. ET
- Location: Stamford Bridge — London
- Live stream: Peacock
- Odds: Chelsea +120; Draw: +300; Tottenham +180
Storylines
Chelsea: It will be an auspicious occasion for Mauricio Pochettino on Thursday night, the Argentine taking charge of his 400th game in English football after spells at Southampton and Tottenham that were altogether more successful than his Chelsea tenure has so far been. “That was one of the best decisions in my life to come here to England and enjoy this great football country,” said the Argentine. “Of course, I feel really comfortable. It is like home.”
It has, however, been a trying time for Pochettino of late, one not eased by any injury list that never seems to shrink. Indeed Chelsea will now be without 14 first-team players when Spurs come to west London, Axel Disasi and Thiago Silva heading to the treatment room after impressing in Saturday’s draw with Aston Villa. The injury crisis means that Thursday’s game will be “great opportunity for some kids to be on the bench” but Alfie Gilchrist might be the only youngster to make the XI.
Tottenham: Having conceded two goals from Arsenal dead balls on Sunday the focus has once more turned to Ange Postecoglu’s refusal to hire a set-piece coach. Given that Spurs have let in the 12 from set pieces this season — not including own goals like Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg’s at the weekend — there is clearly something that needs to improve at the league’s sixth-worst dead ball defense.
Still, Postecoglu is looking at the bigger picture. “I think I’ve answered this question and I don’t think it satisfies people, but no, I don’t see it as an issue. It’s something that we work on along with everything in our game. There are far more important things that we need to concentrate on at the moment in terms of the team we’re building.
“I think people want to believe, and it can be, that football is very prescriptive. You’ve got an illness, here’s the tablet and you feel better. I’ve never believed that. I’ve always been about trying to create an environment and a style of football that can win things. I’ve never worked in a prescriptive manner and I certainly won’t be doing it now.”
Prediction
The one certainty when Chelsea and Tottenham meet is that there are fireworks. Given the state of these two teams defensively, there’s no reason to think that won’t be the case again. PICK: Chelsea 2, Tottenham 2
