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Capital One Cup Final Preview: Chelsea vs Tottenham

Chelsea meet Tottenham in this season’s first showpiece with the Capital One Cup final on Sunday. Both sides will be desperate to secure the first piece of silverware up for grabs this season. The London-based clubs will have huge numbers of supporters rallying their players in an electric Wembley atmosphere. Fixtures between Chelsea and Spurs tend to be filled with drama and entertainment and we will all hope for more of the same on Sunday afternoon.

Chelsea go into the game unbeaten in their last six league fixtures but have failed to win either of their last two games against Burnley and PSG respectively. Coincidentally, the Blues’ only defeat in the last ten games came against Spurs on New Year’s Day.

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Spurs have won six of their last ten fixtures in the league, which includes victories against Chelsea and Arsenal. However, with a defeat to Liverpool and a draw to West Ham in their last two games, Spurs have dropped to seventh place and were knocked out of the Europa League at the hands of Fiorentina on Thursday night.

The two fixtures between the sides have ended very differently with the first ending in a comfortable 3-0 win for Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. The second however resulted in an incredible 5-3 score line in favour of Spurs who were in rampant form against a Blues side whose defence was proving indestructible until that game.

Chelsea have a fantastic trophy record in recent years and have won countless finals over the years but the last time these two sides met in a final was in this competition in 2008 which Spurs won 2-1 after extra-time courtesy of a Jonathan Woodgate winner.

Team News

Chelsea

Chelsea have suffered a huge blow in that they will be missing influential defensive midfielder Nemanja Matic. The Serbian picked up a red card for reacting to a challenge made on him in the 1-1 draw against Burnley. The suspension was rescinded from three to two games but he will still miss the final, with Ramires likely to be his replacement after John Obi Mikel was ruled out with injury. Either Kurt Zouma or Gary Cahill will partner John Terry in defence and Thibaut Courtois is likely to be chosen ahead of Petr Cech in goal.

Spurs

Spurs have no injury worries for Sunday’s clash and will be able to call on their best team even after their efforts in the Europa League. Harry Kane will start up front with support from the likes of Eriksen and Lamela behind him.

Interesting Facts

  • Spurs recently ended a 10-match winless run against Chelsea in all competitions (D5, L5)
  • Spurs’ last piece of silverware came in this competition in 2008, beating Chelsea 2-1 after extra-time
  • Younes Kaboul is the only player involved in the 2008 triumph who is still at the club
  • Chelsea and Spurs have both won the League Cup four times
  • All three of Mourinho’s domestic final appearances as Chelsea boss have ended in triumph, having won the League Cup in 2005 and 2007 and the FA Cup in 2007
  • Petr Cech, John Terry and Didier Drogba played in both the 2005 and 2007 League Cup finals under Mourinho

Recent League Head to Heads

2014/2015       Thu 01 Jan      Tottenham       5 – 3     Chelsea

2014/2015       Wed 03 Dec    Chelsea           3 – 0     Tottenham

2013/2014       Sat 08 Mar      Chelsea           4 – 0     Tottenham

2013/2014       Sat 28 Sep      Tottenham       1 – 1     Chelsea

2012/2013       Wed 08 May   Chelsea           2 – 2     Tottenham

2012/2013       Sat 20 Oct       Tottenham       2 – 4     Chelsea

Key Players

Chelsea: Eden Hazard

Eden Hazard has again proved himself as one of Chelsea’s most effective performers and has been exceptional in helping both provide and score goals this season. With nine goals in the Premier League this season, he has been able to help the likes of Costa in the goal scoring department whilst also being the designated penalty take and slotted the crucial spot kick against Liverpool in the 1st leg of the semi final in this competition. He also provided the assist for Branislav Ivanovic’s winner to send them through 2-1 on aggregate against the Reds and will again look to cause havoc on the wing and Spurs will have to be careful of his pace and trickery.

Tottenham: Harry Kane

Harry Kane is without a doubt the in-form striker in the league and if Spurs are to win on Sunday, the chances are he will have something to do with it. With six goals in his last four Premier League games and 14 in the League in total, he goes into this match with huge momentum. His purple patch somewhat began in his last match against Chelsea where he was instrumental in Spurs’ 5-3 win, bagging two goals. The 21-year old also has a good record in the Capital One Cup this season with three goals in his four games. With a conversion rate of 29%, Kane has shown that he is capable of finishing any chance that comes his way and the Chelsea defence will have to be wary of his movement in the box.

Prediction

Spurs have proved that they are no push-over against the top teams this season but you can’t look past Chelsea with their big game experience having been in countless finals in recent years. It should be a close, high scoring game which could even be decided after normal time, although I am still expecting the Blues to pull through, eventually.

My Prediction – Chelsea 3-2 Spurs

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