3 reasons why Chelsea will defeat Tottenham Hotspur
The city of London will be split this Sunday with daggers drawn at each other as Chelsea take on Tottenham Hotspur at Stamford Bridge in an enticing Premier League derby.
With only eight more rounds of fixtures to go, the race to the top four is hotting up and even if both sides aren't really in the title race at this juncture of the season, each have their own motives to enter the tie.
Whilst the Blues stare at a distinct possibility of finishing outside Champions League places, the Lillywhites aim to finish as the 'best among the rest' in what is a three horse-race along with Manchester United and Liverpool. A victory on Sunday would a world of good for the winners' cause.
However, on paper at least, the hosts Chelsea appear to be the stronger of the two sides. Here are three reasons why.
#1 Tottenham's long-standing Stamford Bridge hoodoo
Irrespective of a team's stature, form and position, there is often a ground where they regularly struggle; football grounds where all the theories and odds go out of the window and the visiting team heads back without a win.
Manchester City at Anfield, Everton at the Emirates, Liverpool at Old Trafford are some of the examples in the Premier League. Tottenham Hotspur, on their part, have one such bogey place in Stamford Bridge where they haven't picked up a win since February 1990.
Regardless of the team's shape and build-up entering the tie, Spurs have found life difficult at the SW6 where they haven't come away victorious in the last 25 league games.
Mauricio Pochettino knows this very well - he oversaw his team squander a 2-0 lead to draw 2-2 in 2016 in what was the best chance to break the duck. He now stares at the prospect of another disappointment as history looks clearly on Chelsea's side.