What: English Premier League
Who: Tottenham Hotspur vs Chelsea
When: Saturday 28th September, 2013, at 12:45 UK Time
Where: White Hart Lane, London, England
Dream Start For Spurs
Tottenham are gearing up for their fourth London derby of the season when they host Chelsea at White Hart Lane. The defeat at the Emirates Stadium a few weeks back against Arsenal is the only blemish on Andre Villas-Boas’ team this season. Either side of that match, Spurs have been perfect, impressing all observers with their quality performances. Gareth Bale may be long gone; however he hasn’t been missed thus far. New recruits such as Christian Eriksen, Roberto Soldado and Paulinho have turned in superb performances.
But they will be tested against Chelsea, as Villas-Boas well admits, with a different type of challenge on the cards in the opinion of the Portuguese. “We come into this game on the back of good results so far but now we face a different proposition, a different team in style with great players and it won’t be easy”, he said.
The question is whether Tottenham can maintain such a fast start. Can this team remain toward the top of the table and challenge for the title or the very least a Champions League place? It is worth remembering that last season, the likes of Everton, West Brom and Fulham were also in the top five at this stage. Spurs seem as though they have the quality and depth to remain near the top, but the real tests are still to come. After Chelsea, Spurs have a series of fixtures they will be confident of winning before a difficult November comes and they play Everton (away), Newcastle, Manchester City (away), and Manchester United.
Is The Slump Over?
In the second coming of Jose Mourinho, everything seemed to be going according to plan for Chelsea until two weeks ago and a defeat at Everton. That may have been a disappointment, but what followed a few days later was complete and utter shock as Chelsea went down to Basel at Stamford Bridge in the Champions League.
Rumours began to fly and it was said that Mourinho would be making changes. The Portuguese manager did just that, dropping Juan Mata and David Luiz in last weekend’s 2-0 win over Fulham. League Cup success followed in a 2-0 victory at Swindon.
The displays in those two successes have still been far from convincing and Mourinho will want a complete display at White Hart Lane in order to keep the doubters quiet. One area of concern will be of his misfiring front-line. Samuel Eto’o was improved against Fulham last week, nearly scoring on a couple of occasions, while Fernando Torres struck against Swindon. Both players however look far from their best and seem to be lacking in confidence. Mourinho will be hoping that one or both begin to find their goalscoring form as that could be the key in Chelsea winning trophies this season.
Could Spurs be fighting it out with them though? Mourinho seems to think so, emphasising the importance of this game. “I think they are a big contender. When I analyse Spurs, they have a much better squad than last season”, admitted the Chelsea manager.
Recent form
Tottenham Hotspur:
Tottenham Hotspur 3-0 Tromso (19/09; Europa League)
Cardiff 0-1 Tottenham Hotspur (22/09; Premier League)
Aston Villa 0-4 Tottenham Hotspur (24/09; League Cup)
Chelsea:
Chelsea 1-2 Basel (18/09; Champions League)
Chelsea 2-0 Fulham (21/09; Premier League)
Swindon 0-2 Chelsea (24/09; League Cup)
Key absences
Tottenham Hotspur: Younes Kaboul; Aaron Lennon (doubt); Etienne Capoue
Chelsea: Marco van Ginkel; Ramires (doubt)
Players to watch
Tottenham – Paulinho: The 25-year-old Brazilian has enjoyed a blistering start since joining Tottenham this past summer. A true box-to-box midfielder who mixes up a strong defensive game with an ability to get forward in attack, Paulinho is now the glue in the Spurs midfield. The former Corinthians star has experienced a smooth transition to the English game and has shown his prowess at scoring goals with three already to his name this season in only eight matches.
Chelsea – Oscar: As debate rages at Chelsea over whether the likes of Mata, Frank Lampard and Luiz should be receiving more playing time, Oscar remains an ever-present in the Blues’ midfield. He burst onto the scene last season with Chelsea, scoring vital goals both domestically and in Europe. There has been no second season slump this term with three goals already. The 22-year-old star has been shown the full repertoire of his incisive passing, goalscoring, and ball control proving he could be a Chelsea stalwart for years to come.
Match Prediction
This could be a fiery affair taking into account a few factors such as it being a London derby and both teams looking like they could be challenge for the league based on early-season form. It will also be two Portuguese managers squaring off against one another. There should be goals in this match, as both midfield and forward lines of each side are full of superb attacking talent. Tottenham will have great belief at home on the back of such a superb start. Chelsea will feel as though they had their bad results against Everton and Basel and have moved on. Tottenham have momentum and are at home, however Chelsea’s experience will certainly count for something in a mouth-watering match. Tottenham Hotspur 1-1 Chelsea.
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