Chelsea vs. Tottenham: Top Tips Ahead of Feisty London Derby
When it comes to fierce rivalry, Chelsea vs. Tottenham is one of the most hotly contested in the Premier League. Though arguably, the Blues are some way ahead of Spurs, having won Premier League and Champions League crowns regularly, when these two go head to head, it usually results in a rip-roaring encounter with more than its fair share of blood and thunder challenges.
In terms of Premier League betting, it’s a fixture that attracts interest, especially when it comes to the markets that take into account cautions and red cards.
Both sides started the season with wins and have aspirations to retain their top four status, with Thomas Tuchel’s team keen to make up ground on Manchester City and Liverpool after falling away from the two sides last season.
Lots of Changes at the Bridge
Tuchel won the Champions League within months of taking over at Stamford Bridge, but the following campaign last season, the West London outfit fell some way short of their very high expectations.
A third-place finish in the Premier League, though acceptable for most teams, is not the kind of position the German boss will be happy with. On top of this, they also managed to lose both the EFL and FA Cup finals to Liverpool, both via the heartache of penalties.
The summer has been one of real change at the club, with a number of star players leaving and top-quality replacements brought in by the club’s new owners. Roman Abramovich has been replaced by American Todd Boehly, and he’s wasted no time in splashing the cash.
Defenders Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen left on free transfer deals to Real Madrid and Barcelona, respectively, but Chelsea did persuade both Marcos Alonso and Cesar Azpilicueta from making similar departures.
Romelu Lukaku moved back to Inter Milan on an initial loan deal and frankly isn’t likely to play for the club again, not after an average season and some ill-advised comments about the club.
In came Raheem Sterling, Kalidou Koulibaly, and Marc Cucurella for a combined cost of over £130 million.
Chelsea edged Everton in their opener, a win sealed by a Jorginho penalty, and there is certainly still a cutting edge missing from their attack, and as such, the likes of Sterling, Kai Havertz, and Mason Mount will have to weigh in with the goods this season.
At Goodison Park, Chelsea were lucky to secure that win precisely because they lack a prolific goalscorer leading their line. Timo Werner was supposed to do that job but hasn’t impressed, and Lukaku did likewise.
Creating chances isn’t a problem; after all, Chelsea had a mammoth 21 efforts on goal and 16 corners, but in the end, it was only a spot-kick that got the better of Jordan Pickford, and that sums up the issues Tuchel has when it comes to killing off the opposition, even opposition as weak as an Everton side that almost got relegated last season.
Conte Makes Chelsea Return
Antonio Conte is still well thought of at Chelsea, where the Italian led the club to a Premier League crown and an FA Cup triumph in the two seasons he was in charge. Nonetheless, he’s bound to come in for some treatment by the home fans; such is the rivalry between the two clubs.
Tottenham took on Southampton at home in their Premier League starter, and they fought back from a goal down to defeat the South-Coast side 4-1 and perhaps most pleasingly for Conte was the fact that none of those goals came via the traditional route of Harry Kane or Son Heung-min, which shows that the North London side has a lot of options in the final third.
The line-up against the Saints was one without any of the club’s summer additions, and that shows that Conte is generally happy with the nucleus of his team, and the additions of the likes of Richarlison and Yves Bissouma simply add more depth to a squad that now has Champions League football to get their teeth into.
Conte’s side certainly wants to be pushing themselves upwards towards Chelsea in the Premier League pecking order and will fancy themselves to get something from their visit to Stamford Bridge in the first big games of the season.
Back the Draw 12/5
History usually sides with Chelsea in this fixture, and Tuchel’s side won both encounters last season, including a 3-0 away victory and a 2-0 home win, but we think this one could end in a stalemate.
Though Chelsea do find goals, they don’t net as many as they should, and Conte has instilled a desire among his team that will make them hungry to succeed in this game.
Under/Over Goals 1.5 - 11/4
We don’t see there being a host of goals in this fixture, no more than one, and this bet offers you some insurance over the draw bet. In other words, you’ll win if either team also manages to sneak a narrow win.
