HomeTeams - PLChelseaTottenham Vs Chelsea Preview | Team News, Stats & Key Men

Tottenham Vs Chelsea Preview | Team News, Stats & Key Men

On January 4th, league leaders Chelsea will travel to White Hart Lane to take on London rivals Tottenham.  Chelsea will look to become the first team in Premier League history to win 14 matches in a row in a single season with a win against Spurs.  Spurs will look to end Chelsea’s winning run and extend their own winning streak to five matches.

Chelsea have won 13 matches in a row making them clear favourites for the league title.  After Liverpool dropped points in their 2-2 draw against Sunderland on Monday, the Blues could move a full eight points clear with a win.  They’ll have to do it against a Spurs side that is unbeaten in the Premier League at White Hart Lane this season.

Spurs have their own winning streak going with four consecutive Premier League wins, including back to back 4-1 victories over Southampton and Watford.  After Chelsea ended their title hopes last season, Spurs will be looking to put a dent in Chelsea’s title hopes.

Team News

Neither team has a lot of injuries to deal with, despite the fixture congestion of the winter period.  However Tottenham will have to deal without having Erik Lamela, according to Physioroom.com.

Chelsea have two injury doubts in John Terry and Marcos Alonso, the status of both will be decided closer to kick off, according to Physioroom.com.

Interesting Statistics

Chelsea will tie the record for most consecutive Premier League wins held by Arsenal if they beat Tottenham, although that record was set over two seasons.  These two teams have the two best defensive records in the league with Chelsea conceding just 13 goals in 19 matches and Tottenham conceding only 14 goals in 19 matches.

Key Players

Tottenham: Mousa Dembele

Chelsea have not dropped points since switching to their 3-4-3 formation, including a 2-1 win over Tottenham at Stamford Bridge.  One of the keys to Chelsea’s success has been their ability to control midfield despite taking a man out to get the extra defender.  Spurs will hope their one man midfield wrecker, Moussa Dembele, will be able to change that.  Dembele is special because of his ability to resist teams pressing him and carry the ball through midfield.  Going up against one of the bet ball winners in the league in N’Golo Kante will be a test for him, but if he is able to pass that test it could be huge for Spurs.  Chelsea have done a fantastic job of protecting their defence in the last few months, but Dembele could progress the ball into dangerous areas enough to give the Chelsea centre-backs problems.

Chelsea: Diego Costa

A key part of Chelsea’s winning run has been Diego Costa being on fire.  He has scored nine goals in his last 12 Premier League appearances, or since Chelsea switched formations to their 3-4-3.  He has been scoring with seemingly every shot at times this season, and while that may be unsustainable long term, he may just be able to keep it up long enough for Chelsea to have the league title secured.  A goal in this game could certainly go a long way to doing that.

Prediction

Chelsea have been in unstoppable form lately, but Spurs are a team that could take them down.  Chelsea’s winning run is bound to come to an end sometime soon, but them losing at home is also unlikely, so a draw seems like a reasonable result.

Prediction: 1-1 Draw

thejerseyfitz
thejerseyfitz
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