Gameweek 6: Tottenham vs Chelsea - Preview
The Special One vs AVB: who will prevail?
It’s a London derby and both the Blues and the Spurs will be out to emerge victors in a battle of equals and stamp their authority on London. Both teams had a good summer in terms of new reinforcements to bolster their squad, and the results have been there to be seen.
Tottenham in particular; who secured the services of players like Erik Lamela, Roberto Soldado, Christian Eriksen and Paulinho have been impressive and over the years they have passed on from mere pushovers, to challengers for the top 4 and given their recent form, they also seem worthy title contenders.
Gareth Bale’s departure in the summer to Real Madrid, for a record fee of $125m, doesn’t seem to have affected the Spurs at all, thanks to manager Andre Villas Boas summer spending spree that ensured that the team does not miss its Welsh hitman.
Tottenham have 4 wins from 5 games in the League this year and have gotten off to excellent starts in their Europa League and Capital One Cup campaigns. And following a morale boosting 4-0 win in the League Cup against Aston Villa, AVB’s boys will be buoyed by the prospect of beating a Chelsea side, who are yet to hit the ground running on their Premier League campaign.
There was much hype and excitement doing the rounds at Stamford Bridge following Jose Mourinho’s return to his beloved Chelsea where he endured an earlier 5 year spell from 2002 to 2007. The Blues have made huge strides forward since his last assignment with them, having pocketed a Premier League title, 3 FA Cups, a Community shield and most notably, the Champions League and the Europa league.
And with “The Special One’s” arrival, Chelsea reaching its peak of achievement seems almost inevitable. But football has time and again proved what a funny game it can be, and within a matter of 2 weeks, Chelsea’s bright start stuttered following defeats to Everton in the League and to FC Basel in the Champions League.
But with wins at Fulham and Swindon, Chelsea will look to carry forward that momentum and start an unbeaten run that could bolster their title chances this time around. They sit in 4th position in a Premier League table where the Top 5 teams are separated by just 2 points.
The fixture also marks Tottenham Manager, Andre Villas Boas’ first encounter against his mentor Mourinho, with whom he spent 2 years as assistant at Chelsea.
Let’s take a look at how the last 5 games between these two sides panned out :-
1. Chelsea 2-2 Tottenham, 8th May 2013 [Premier League]
2. Tottenham 2-4 Chelsea, 20th October 2012 [Premier League]
3. Tottenham 1-5 Chelsea, 15th April 2012 [FA Cup Semi-Final]
4. Chelsea 0-0 Tottenham, 24th march 2012 [Premier League]
5.Tottenham 1-1 Chelsea, 22nd December 2011 [Premier League]
Tottenham’s last victory against the Blues came back in 2010, when they salvaged a 2-1 win at home. With Tottenham sitting above Chelsea in the league table, in 2nd spot, AVB’s men will do everything in their capacity to ensure it stays that way at the end of Game week 6.
On the other hand, Mourinho-led Chelsea would definitely fancy breaking a few hearts at White Hart Lane today with a morale boosting win over their title rivals. A Super Saturday featuring two good teams, talented squads, popular managers and hopefully loads of goals on offer.
Prediction
Given the balance and the depth that the Chelsea squad possesses and their ability to shine in a big match, I would tip the West London club to scrap out a win against it’s North London rivals.