EPL 2020-21: Tottenham Hotspur vs Chelsea: 3 Factors which might determine the fate of the match
Tottenham Hotspur face Chelsea in a crucial Premier League match at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium tonight. Tottenham are now in seventh position in the league table with nine points from four matches, while Chelsea are fourth with 10 points from the same number of matches.
Should Chelsea win today, they will join Liverpool at the top of the table. Meanwhile, Tottenham will want to bounce back from their defeat to Crystal Palace last weekend.
Before the match, Chelsea's players could be seen out having a light-hearted training session.
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On that note, let's take a look at three key factors which might determine the fate of today’s match:
#1 Romelu Lukaku’s form
Romelu Lukaku, who joined Chelsea from Inter Milan at the start of the current season, is in great form. He has scored four goals in four matches for the Blues so far this season. He has scored in each of Chelsea’s last three matches and will want to extend his run against Tottenham tonight.
Lukaku plays as the centre-forward in Chelsea’s 3-4-3 and has shown great opportunism and goal-scoring prowess so far. He has also been ably supported by Kai Havertz and Mason Mount, who start on the right and left wing respectively.
Chelsea also have young attackers like Timo Werner, Hakim Ziyech and Christian Pulisic in their squad. Lukaku will expect to receive quite a few final passes in the final third today.
However, Tottenham usually defend deep and rely on counter-attacks. So Lukaku and his fellow Chelsea forwards are likely to get less space around the opposition penalty box.
As a result, there should be fewer goal-scoring chances, and Lukaku will have to capitalize on them as and when they come. He might also have to depend a great deal on his shooting prowess, as he would like to test Hugo Lloris from the edge of the penalty box.
#2 Tottenham’s counter-attacking threat
As has been stated before, Tottenham usually defend deep and rely on counter-attacks against big teams. Chelsea would be wary of the counter-attacking threat posed by them.
Tottenham started with a 4-4-2 formation in their match against Crystal Palace and might switch back to a 4-3-3 against Chelsea after the reversal. Tottenham's attacking triumvirate, which consists of Son-Heung Min, Lucas Moura and Harry Kane, will look to test Chelsea's defense with their surging runs.
Son scored a wonderful goal against Manchester City from one such counter-attacking move. Steven Bergwijn can come off the bench and trouble the Chelsea defense with his speed too.
Chelsea’s back three will have to be cautious against any such threat and might abstain from playing a high line too frequently. Antonio Rudiger might be handed the unenviable task of handling Kane. The Chelsea wing-backs might have to fall back occasionally to stop Son and Moura’s speedy runs. Jorginho might also have a crucial role to play, as he would have to fall back regularly to help the defense at times.
But it is important to note that the fitness of Son, Moura and even Bergwjin is in shadows for this match since they picked up injuries recently.
#3 The midfield battle
The midfield battle will be intense and Chelsea’s four-man midfield will be bolstered by the presence of their two wingbacks. Marcus Alonso and Reece James will try to wrest the initiative in midfield with their consistent pressing. Moreover, N’Golo Kante will try to carry the ball to the Tottenham half at times, and his battle with Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg could prove to be a decisive one.
Moreover, Dele Alli might try to play long balls to his forwards from the halfway line, and Konte and Jorginho would want to prevent that. The Chelsea wingbacks would want to keep the ball in wide areas and thereby drag the Tottenham midfielders wide to create space for the Chelsea forwards.
In a nutshell, it should be an absorbing battle in the midfield tomorrow and it might go on to decide the outcome of the match.