Exciting Monday Night Football: Chelsea Visits Tottenham

It is a great match for a Monday night, as Chelsea travel to face early pacesetters Tottenham Hotspur. There is enough spice in this fixture during a normal season, but the summer appointment of Mauricio Pochettino at Stamford Bridge has added even more. This will be his first return to Spurs since leaving the club and the reaction is likely to be a mixed one. Ange Postecoglou has started at Spurs excellently and put himself in a strong position going into this fixture. All of the pressure is on Pochettino and Chelsea, as they are already getting cut adrift of the European places.

Spurs Defying Expectations Post-Kane Era

Following the sale of Harry Kane, Tottenham were written off. Many expected them to struggle to compete for the European places, but they are leading the league and are already considered as likely to finish in the top four according to the bookies. That would be an excellent achievement and put the club back on the right track. They have yet to lose in the league and it would sting should their first defeat be inflicted by their former manager. However, Monday night needs to be considered as a real opportunity rather than something to be feared.

Chelsea’s Crucial Transition Period

Chelsea are still in a period of transition. Due to their spending, a return to the Champions League is needed sooner rather than later. If they are to achieve that this season, they need to go on a run of winning results and matches like this one are crucial. They have an opportunity to take points off a rival team. Not only will the gap between the two get smaller, but their confidence will be boosted going into a difficult run of fixtures.

Interesting stats

Tottenham haven’t won five successive Premier League matches since December 2018 when Mauricio Pochettino was in charge.

Chelsea have scored 51 times in away Premier League matches against Tottenham. That is their best record against any side in the competition.

Key men

Son

It has been a return to form this season for Son Heung-min. He has been given renewed vigour by the captaincy and his role as Tottenham’s starting striker. There is more clarity in his squad status following the exit of Harry Kane and his team needs him to be the one to score the goals. He has stepped up in impressive fashion and is set to be one of the top scorers in the Premier League again this season. The South Korean already has eight goals and has contributed just a single assist. This underlines his role in the attack, as the one to finish chances rather than create. Although he had a great on-pitch relationship with Kane, he has already struck a similar one with James Maddison. Son continues to deliver in big matches, so the tougher fixture this weekend won’t reduce his chances of getting on the scoresheet.

Caicedo

Moises Caicedo was one of the biggest signings of the summer and he has started to show his class in the midfield. In the recent 2-2 draw against Arsenal, he was excellent and helped his team to dominate the central areas. It will be hoped that he can deliver a similar performance on Monday. If Chelsea get their game-plan right and win the ball in high areas, there will be a chance to trouble Tottenham. The home side do leave themselves vulnerable to counter attacks and Caicedo’s ball winning could be central to exposing that. Chelsea supporters will be hoping that there is much more to come from the former Brighton man and a quality performance on Monday could help him realise that.

Team news

Reece James is nearing a return to the Premier League starting eleven and will be assessed before Monday. Armando Broja could be back involved on the bench after his injury.

Destiny Udogie and Ben Davies are both big doubts this weekend, with Emerson Royal on standby to start at left back.

Verdict

This is going to be a great watch on Monday evening, with plenty to learn about both clubs. The pressure is on Tottenham as their supporters will be expecting a victory against an inconsistent Chelsea. Meanwhile, the visiting support will know that they can’t let the gap to the top four grow too much. A win this weekend would go a long way to raising the mood at Stamford Bridge. A score draw could be the way this one ends.

Tottenham 1-1 Chelsea