Chelsea at Tottenham: Three things to look for in Carabao Cup semifinal

Chelsea heads north to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for the second leg of the Carabao Cup semifinals against Spurs on Wednesday. The Blues have a commanding 2-0 lead in the tie after an impressive home win last week. They suffocated Tottenham with their disciplined possession to a point where the teams looked to be from two different planets at times. Although it wasn’t always pretty—as evidenced by the two deflections leading to the home side’s goals—it was dominant.  Thomas Tuchel’s men proved that despite their recent struggles, they are a class above Antonio Conte’s Spurs at this moment in time.

The second leg poses its own unique challenges. While a two-goal lead may look comfortable on paper, 2-0 is the most dangerous lead in football. This Tottenham core has a history of unlikely comebacks in two-legged cup ties, so suffice it to say, crazier things have happened. The Blues also have to play Manchester City on Saturday afternoon. The statuses of N’Golo Kante and Thiago Silva are up in the air, as well. All of this means that Chelsea cannot get too comfortable as there is still a lot to play for in the return match for both sides.

Here are three things to look for in the second leg of the Carabao Cup semifinal:

1. Approach

It is an undeniable fact at this point that there are few—if any—managers in world football better suited to guide a team through a tournament than Tuchel. The reigning Champions League winner has reached the final of Europe’s elite competition two years in a row with two different clubs and he’s already got his side back into the knockout rounds this campaign. However, he’s also had success in other tournaments. He guided the Blues to an FA Cup final (managing from the fifth round onward) before falling 1-0 at the hands of Leicester City. Tuchel also managed the 5-1 win in the FA Cup third round this past week over Chesterfield, as well. Elsewhere, he’s gotten Chelsea into the Carabao Cup semifinals this year with the Blues taking a 2-0 advantage into the second leg. They have one leg into the final already and the German tactician is largely to thank.

All of this is to say that if there is one man who knows how to handle the pressure of a crucial away fixture at a major stage in any tournament, it’s Tuchel. One of the interesting talking points ahead of the aforementioned second leg is how Tuchel’s team will approach the match. Chelsea is in a difficult position up 2-0 because if it plays with too much attacking intent, Conte’s team could catch it out in a moment of vulnerability and spark new life into the tie. Therefore, the question remains: how will the Blues approach this contest?

In all likelihood, Chelsea’s gameplan going into this game will look similar to the one it played against Porto with in the second leg of the the UCL last season. The Blues conceded significantly more possession to their opponents in the second fixture with a 2-0 lead. They played with less attacking intent and ultimately took less risks. It was one of the only games Chelsea had lost at that point in the season, but it went on to advance regardless. It took a wonder goal to beat Tuchel’s squad in the end as its discipline guided it through. The second game against Tottenham could be much of the same from the Blues as they already have one eye on the EFL Cup final.