Premier League: Top Four Race at the Bridge

Chelsea vs Tottenham Hotspur

The Champions League places in the Premier League could have a different look for the first time since autumn after Chelsea and Spurs have met at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.

Just a single point separates these two London giants in the Premier League table, with the Blues clinging on to fourth place and the Premier League 2020 betting odds point to a close battle. Chelsea are in pole position, but anything other than a home win on Saturday will tighten things up even more, while a defeat for the Blues could see them drop as low as seventh.

It’s going to be a tense match, that’s for sure. Spurs have their own problems, but fans of both these London giants expect Champions League football.

 

Talking Points

Euro rivals are hunting down the Blues

Chelsea have held the top four place since Matchday Nine and have looked comfortable for much of the season as Frank Lampard’s young guns impressed with their vibrant and fearless style of play. But with 12 games to play the Blues are just three points ahead of Manchester United, in seventh place, and only seven ahead of Burnley in 11^th!

Defeat to Manchester United in the Monday Night Fixture will have really hurt the Blues, and head coach Lampard was fuming with the officials and their technology. But that doesn’t alter the fact that, as recently as November, Chelsea had twice as many points as the Red Devils, and they had just embarked on a six-match winning run.

An injury to Tammy Abraham has stopped Chelsea in their tracks and they looked toothless on Monday, dominating possession and having 17 shots, but only one was on target. To be fair the hosts had two goals disallowed by VAR, one a marginal offside call against Olivier Giroud, and another, which should have stood after United midfield star Fred got away with a push on Cesar Azpilicueta, who was penalised himself.

But Lampard’s reluctance to play Olivier Giroud has baffled some of us. The Frenchman is a proven goal scorer and Chelsea looked more dangerous when he came on.

Chelsea need a cutting edge and it’s Giroud over Michy Batshuayi for me.

Spurs strikers need help from midfield

This week’s big Premier League 2020 news, away from the UEFA drama at the Etihad and Chelsea’s loss to United, has been another damaging injury at Spurs, as Heung-Min Son has now joined Harry Kane in the treatment room for the foreseeable future.

Kane’s fitness is potentially a big problem for Gareth Southgate, as he prepares England for an assault on Euro 2020, but that won’t be high on Jose’s list of priorities, who might find goals hard to come by without Kane and Son.

Mourinho had the chance to see his other strikers in action against Leipzig on Wednesday night, but they failed to hit the target. Erik Lamela looked bright when he came on, while Giovani Lo Celso also came close, hitting the woodwork with one effort.

Lucas Moura and Steven Berwijn ran themselves ragged but didn’t come close to scoring.

Spurs fans were delighted to see Tanguy Ndombele make an appearance. Since his

£55m transfer from Lyon the midfield powerhouse has shown a lot of promise but struggled with fitness. Alongside Harry Winks he could form a midfield partnership to take the pressure off the front men.

 

History

Chelsea have had the better of the clashes between these two teams, winning 33 of the 61 games in the Premier League era, with Spurs winning nine and there have been 19 draws.

In the last meeting, the Blues came away from the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with a 0-2 victory, just before Christmas, thanks to two goals from Willian, while Son was sent off for Spurs.

In the visitors’ favour, Spurs are unbeaten in four away games.

 

Betting Tip

	Chelsea vs Tottenham Hotspur	2-3 goals @ 1.96
	February 22, 20:30 (GMT+8)

The latest SBOBET odds back Chelsea at 1.78, while Spurs are out at 4.40 to win and move into fourth place, while the draw is at 3.60.

Chelsea are really struggling at home, but they will be desperate to banish the memory of defeat to Manchester United and will come out on the attack. Mourinho will set his team up to strike on the break, and I can see both teams scoring with the game being decided by the odd goal.

Imagine Jose’s smile if Spurs grab the winner!

A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR () BETS ARE WORTH:
= €20 (Highly confident)	= €10 (CONFIDENT)	= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT)

Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.

 

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