Match Preview: Chelsea FC v Tottenham Hotspur

Chelsea FC take on London rivals Tottenham Hotspur Saturday in an afternoon kickoff from Stamford Bridge. The league leaders enter this matchup with archrival Spurs fresh off a win against last place Fulham 3-1, the Blues scoring all three goals through the work of German international forward Andre Schurrle. Tottenham meanwhile struggled against 2nd to last place Cardiff City at White Hart Lane last week, winning 1-0 on a Roberto Soldado goal.

The Blues come into this matchup seemingly a heavy favorite, however matches are not played on paper, and both sides will be ready and raring to go in this London Derby. The supporters will be up for it as well, as many Chelsea fans list Spurs as their biggest rivals. The intense rivalry has been fueled the last few seasons by Tottenham signing former Blues boss Andre Villas-Boas, who managed the North London club successfully for a year and a half before leaving “by mutual consent” in December of 2013. Chelsea also earned the ire of Spurs fans over the capture of Brazilian forward Willian from Anzhi Makhachkala in August of 2013. Chelsea fans enjoy poking a bit of fun at Spurs inability to sign the young winger by singing songs of his alleged feelings towards Spurs

"“They bought his flight, but Willian he saw the light! He took the call from Abramovich and off he went to Stamford Bridge! He hates Tottenham!”"

Spurs currently sit 5th in the league while Chelsea tops the standings, both teams have relied extensively on a couple of key players, the Belgian phenom Eden Hazard for Chelsea and the Togolese international Emanuel Adebayor for Tottenham. Adebayor is going through a bit of a renaissance as a forward in the top flight this year; in previous years the Spurs offense has flown through Gareth Bale, the former Spurs and current Real Madrid star, however this season Adebayor has become the target man, creating chances and scoring goals for the White Hart Lane faithful on his own or in a partnership with new man Roberto Soldado.

Chelsea youngster Eden Hazard has been sublime this term, leading the team with 12 league goals (including the brilliant hat trick against Newcastle) and looking a threat to score whenever he touches the ball. The attack flows through the young midfielder, and he has been instrumental in creating chances for other players, 2 of Schurrle’s 3 goals last weekend came as a direct result of Hazard passes or crosses. However the young forward took a bit of a knock as a late game substitute for Belgium on Wednesday against the Ivory Coast. While manager Jose Mourinho labelled him fit to play in Friday’s press conference, I feel he will most likely start the match on the bench.

While losing your best player the week before a big rivalry match is never good, it almost aids Mourinho’s selection for Saturday’s match. No longer is there a debate over starting the in form Schurrle OR Willian, instead both can now be run out on either side of the midfield. With Hazard having a knock, we may see the return of Frank Lampard to the side, as a veteran presence can go a long way to calming a side missing their top player against a rival aiming for a top 4 finish. Brazilian CB/CDM David Luiz and England LB Ashley Cole will both miss the match, Luiz suffered an injury while away on international duty for Brazil while Cole suffered a ligament injury in training at Cobham Thursday.

Tottenham have not won at Stamford Bridge in any competition since February of 1990, furthermore under Jose Mourinho Chelsea have not lost at Stamford Bridge in 74 matches under the Portuguese manager.

My predicted starting XI:
——————————–Cech————————————-

——-Azpilicueta——Cahill——-Terry—–Ivanovic————-

——————Matic—————-Lampard———————–

—-Willian—————Oscar——————Schurrle———-

—————————-Torres————————————–

Scoreline prediction: Chelsea 2- 1 Spurs

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