Tottenham vs. Chelsea: Predictions for a cagey Blues win in EFL Cup tie

Chelsea head to Wembley for a cup semi-final tie, not because it’s the FA Cup, but because Tottenham still don’t have a stadium of their own.

Maurizio Sarri and Mauricio Pochettino used their pre-match press conference to swap mind games about what trophies mean to each club. Chelsea never pass up a chance to add something silver to their shelf, and Tottenham never miss a chance to be Spursy.

Kevin Peacock: Tottenham 1 – 1 Chelsea. Maurizio Sarri will be looking to carry on the fine Chelsea tradition of scuppering Tottenham’s chances of winning anything. This League Cup semi-final first leg will see the Italian reverse his usual rotation for the cup back to his familiar Premier League starting XI. Injuries point towards giving Callum Hudson-Odoi his second consecutive start alongside the sulky Alvaro Morata and Eden Hazard.

With the second leg to come at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea will just want to keep Spurs within their sights. It’s unlikely to be expansive and neither side will want to lose the tie at the halfway stage. Eden Hazard to score.

Barrett Rouen: 3 – 2. This is going to be a tough one because Spurs are in a tempestuous mental state but Chelsea are in an equally weird place. The game will be more full of fire than a game of its importance – or lack thereof – would ordinarily be. But with Chelsea’s injuries and Tottenham’s desire, it will get very interesting. Hopefully Chelsea just manage to eke it out but it could very easily go the other way.

Scott Brant: 1 – 1. A draw with each team scoring once is a win for Chelsea. As mentioned by Mr. Peacock, neither team will want to be behind at the halfway mark, so both will be cautious in tactics to start. Tottenham making it into the final isn’t an option – not on Chelsea’s watch. Eden Hazard to score, Harry Kane to score, the match overall will be a dud.

Midweek football is always outstanding. Add in the fact there’s a chance to snatch another trophy opportunity from Spurs, this one’s irresistible.

Tan Yi Hao: 1 – 1. I am not feeling confident for this game at all. Chelsea’s form on paper looks rather decent, but fans who have been watching recent games should be concerned at the quality of football they are playing. It seems that as the season progresses, Chelsea have fallen further and further away from their ideal footballing philosophy and this does not bode well considering Spurs’ 7-0 win over Tranmere just a few days ago.

Chelsea have to be resolute at the ball and solid in midfield to avoid a similar collapse at Wembley as last time out, when Spurs’ four-man midfield completely overran the centre of the park. While the Blues’ recent strong defensive record would suggest this is very much possible, their lacklustre attack would most probably see the match end with a low-scoring draw.

Abhishek Pancholi: 2 – 0. Maurizio Sarri spoke about changing his tactics on the eve of the game, sending thousands of Sarribots into meltdown. As Twitter became flooded with messages of ‘Does Not Compute’ and a flurry of tweet deletions hit their servers, the rest of us quietly rejoiced.

Spurs handed Sarri a painful lesson the last time these sides met. Sarri will learn from that defeat and so will Jorginho. Chelsea will revert to a variation of the Plan B that undid Manchester City. And with Hazard playing as a false-nine, the Blues will take the lead in the first half.

Spurs will come at Chelsea in the second, but a lightning break led by Callum Hudson-Odoi will seal the victory.