EFL Cup: Who Will Be The Pride Of London?

Chelsea vs Tottenham Hotspur

All roads lead to Stamford Bridge on Wednesday for the first leg EFL Cup semi-final tie between capital city heavyweights Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur.

The Blues The Blues made it the last four thanks to a comfortable win over Brentford, while Spurs won by the odd goal in three against West Ham, to set up yet another London Derby…and a huge one! It’s a fascinating prospect as Chelsea have the Champions League and Premier League to worry about, while Spurs have sacrificed their Europa League spot, failing to turn up against Rennes, and the Whites have a steely focus on domestic matters.

We’ll be back in midweek with all the latest EFL Cup 2021 updates but in the meantime let’s take a look at these two teams and the EFL Cup 2022 betting odds, and decide who’s going to nudge ahead after the first leg.

Talking Points

The Conte factor

Having won the Scudetto with Inter Milan last year, and with three Serie A league successes with Juventus on his CV, Spurs boss Antonio Conte is a proven winner, as is his opposite number Thomas Tuchel, who guided Chelsea to Champions League glory last season.

EFL Cup: Antonio Conte managed Chelsea in 2016-2018 — Antonio Conte during Tottenham Hotspur’s match against Watford

But winning a league over nine months and 38 games takes more stamina and strategy than to win a cup competition, and Conte has also tasted success at boss of Chelsea, winning the Premier League in 2017. Since his arrival at Spurs the spiky Italian has lifted the club’s profile from a disjointed malaise to a well oiled and dangerous unit and they have picked up wins over Norwich, Crystal Palace and, on Saturday Watford, as well as pushing Liverpool all the way in a 2-2 draw in the run up to Christmas. There was a blip against Southampton when Spurs totally dominated but had to settle for a 1-1 draw, and it looked like they may suffer the same fate against Watford, until Davinson Sanchez popped up with a 96^th minute winner.

That goal could be massive as it lifted Spurs up to sixth place, and only two points behind fourth placed Arsenal with two games in hand. The race for a Champions League spot will be fiercely contested, with the Gunners and Spurs battling for fourth place alongside West Ham and Manchester United; and I, for one, wouldn’t bet against Conte.

Captain and chief striker Harry Kane has started scoring again, after a poor first half of the campaign, and that turn of events could be crucial for Spurs’ season as well as this game.

Chelsea’s Premier concern

Having looked so strong in the early weeks of the season the Blues have fallen off the pace a little, and they have two huge games coming up. On Sunday they face Liverpool and then, on the other side of this two leg semi-final, they come up against Manchester City. I’d say two points or less from those two matches might well see them out of the title race.

Serie A

Bologna

Inter Milan

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Manchester City’s 2-1 victory over Arsenal on Saturday took the Sky Blues 11 points clear of Chelsea so it’s unclear whether the Blues’ Sunday clash with Liverpool is a ‘must-win’ or a ‘must not lose’. Either way Tuchel’s team has a huge uphill task to keep in touch with the reigning champions, after recent draws with Brighton, Wolves, Everton and Burnley have cost them eight points in a few short weeks. The return of Romelu Lukaku seemed to spark something as Chelsea won away to Steven Gerrard’s Aston Villa on Boxing Day, and the big Belgian scored again last Wednesday to give his side a lead which looked certain to yield three crucial points, but an injury time equaliser from Danny Welbeck was another hefty blow to their flickering title aspirations.

History

The Blues have had much the better of the head-to-head encounters, winning 36 of the 67 meetings in the Premier League era, while there have been 21 draws and Spurs have just made it into double figures with ten victories.

The last competitive game between these two teams at Stamford Bridge, a Premier League clash behind closed doors in November 2020, ended in a 0-0 draw.

When playing at home, Chelsea have not lost to Spurs in five encounters, they are unbeaten in seven and in ten games at Stamford Bridge; but this is the first tie they have come face to face with their former boss.

Betting Tip

	Chelsea vs Tottenham Hotspur	Tottenham Hotspur Asian Handicap +0.50 @ 1.87
	January 6, 03:45 (GMT+8)

At a SBOTOP price of 1.99 the Blues are favourites, but not strong enough to have a clear advantage over Conte’s Spurs. The visitors come in at 3.49 with the Draw at 3.11 and we’re expecting goals; but not an avalanche. The price on 2-3 Goals is as low as it gets, coming in at 1.80 and a 1-1 draw at a price of 5.60 is statistically the most likely score line.