Wednesday night will see Chelsea look to move further ahead in their push for a maiden Premier League title under Antonio Conte, as they take on Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane, hoping to capitalise upon Liverpool’s surprise draw away at Sunderland on Monday.
Tottenham are currently on a four-game winning run, with English duo Dele Alli and Harry Kane orchestrating havoc amongst Premier League defences.
The pair have scored five and three goals respectively in the past three games. Meanwhile, chief creator Christian Eriksen, who scored against Chelsea at the Bridge in November, has kicked on after a slow start to produce seven goals and six assists this season.
Summer signing Victor Wanyama and Belgium enforcer Moussa Dembele provide the cover that allows Spurs’ attack to flourish while keeping the defence safe – their success exemplified by the fact that Tottenham have only conceded 14 goals, which is second only to their opponents Chelsea.
Hugo Lloris is arguably one of the best goalkeepers in the league, and centre-back pairing Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen used their excellent ability to read the game in order to win tackles and instinctively send Tottenham away on the counter.
Through the use of Alderweireld’s raking long passes over the top of opposition defences. Spurs will hope to utilise this by exploiting the somewhat vulnerable Marcos Alonso, who often pulls in too tight to David Luiz allowing opposition wingers and full-backs spaced time to penetrate Chelsea’s goal, although Luiz will hope to more than match Alderweireld’s passing ability.
Tottenham will be able to welcome back Kyle Walker from suspension, although it’s yet to be seen whether he will start following Kieran Trippier’s superb display against Watford, in which he contributed two assists. Their only injury concern is Erik Lamela, who remains out with a hip injury.
Chelsea, on the other hand, will also be able to welcome back a suspended player, this time in the form of Spanish winger Pedro.
Once again, however, it’s yet to be seen whether he will regain his spot in the side, as a result of Willian’s two-goal haul against Stoke City.
The Blues will have an anxious wait to find out if Marcos Alonso can play on Wednesday, following a knock he suffered on the weekend, while John Terry looks set to make a long-awaited return from injury in time for a game and a rivalry he knows all too well.
