What: English Premier League
Who: Chelsea vs Tottenham
When: Saturday 8th March 2014, at 17:30 UK Time
Where: Stamford Bridge, London, England
Blues Prepare For Mammoth March
Chelsea and Tottenham will clash in the late Premier League kick-off in a crucial contest at Stamford Bridge. League leaders Chelsea will attempt to consolidate their lead atop the standings as they enter one of the more difficult periods of their campaign. With home matches against Tottenham and Arsenal set to come this month as well as tricky away matches with Aston Villa and Crystal Palace, a series of positive results could make the Blues title favourites by April. However, with the return leg against Galatasaray in the Champions League Round of 16 also on the cards, it is apparent that Jose Mourinho’s side have their work cut out for them in the coming weeks.
There is a growing confidence amongst supporters that this team have what it takes to win the title. Though lately the quality of their performances may not have hit the heights, Chelsea are finding a way to win some difficult fixtures. This is surely the mark of a club with title aspirations and not even a full season into his second spell, Mourinho already seems to have put his stamp on this team.
The Portuguese boss is also in confident mood and explained recently that he believes he has the ability to bring out the very best in a player.
"It’s impossible to make every player better", he said. "With some I don’t succeed and with some I cannot improve. But — if I go player by player — my percentage of players who reach the best years and the best moments of their career with me is huge.”
Should Mourinho be able to raise the quality of this current crop then the Premier League crown could return to Stamford Bridge.
Spurs Try To Mess Things Up
While Chelsea are clearly targeting the title, Tottenham’s eyes have not left their main goal – a Champions League berth. It is something though that appears to be slipping away ever so slowly. Tim Sherwood’s reign has been seen as mostly positive; however as of late the first murmurs of discontent have begun to appear amongst fans.
The narrow victory over Cardiff a week ago was met with a collective polite applause, the expectation being that Tottenham should have beaten the struggling Welsh side by more than a solitary goal. The three points were of course the required return and Sherwood still believes his side are well-placed to achieve their goal.
"Sometimes when the expectation is not with you, it makes it a little bit easier”, said Sherwood. "[With] games against Chelsea at the Bridge, Arsenal at the Emirates and Liverpool at Anfield, perhaps the pressure's off us a little bit and we can cause a surprise. We're looking to mess up as many other people's seasons as we can, and enhance ours at the same time."
Sherwood would be hailed as a hero should he be able to mastermind a spot in the Champions League, but with such a difficult schedule to close the season the club’s main objective looks to be in jeopardy.
Recent form
Chelsea:
Chelsea 1-0 Everton (22/02; Premier League)
Galatasaray 1-1 Chelsea (26/02; Champions League)
Fulham 1-3 Chelsea (01/03; Premier League)
Tottenham:
Norwich 1-0 Tottenham (23/02; Premier League)
Tottenham 3-1 Dnipro (27/02; Europa League)
Tottenham 1-0 Cardiff (02/03; Premier League)
Key absences
Chelsea: Marco van Ginkel; Ashley Cole; David Luiz (doubt)
Tottenham: Danny Rose; Erik Lamela; Etienne Capoue; Vlad Chiriches; Christian Eriksen (doubt)
Players to watch
Chelsea – Andre Schurrle: Frozen out by Mourinho after he was deemed not ready for the physical demands of the English game, Schurrle didn’t sulk but rather used that as inspiration to come back stronger. In recent weeks the Germany international is showing he can be a real asset to Chelsea and was simply outstanding last week against Fulham, scoring a hat-trick. If he can begin to produce on a regular basis then Chelsea will have another vital player able to score the goals they have been missing from their front line.
Tottenham – Roberto Soldado: Branded as a bust and often described as out-of-form or misfiring, the Spaniard has had a difficult first season in English football. There does appear to be something of an improvement as of late. Soldado’s partnership with Emmanuel Adebayor is beginning to show signs of evolving into something good and there was massive relief for the player when he scored the winner last week against Cardiff. To his credit, Soldado has worked tremendously hard to break out of his slump and a strong final third of the season would allow him to forget the bulk of this disappointing campaign.
Match Prediction
Chelsea are becoming a real Mourinho-esque team with their ability to pick up results even when they aren’t firing on all cylinders. While their manager had insisted that they wouldn’t be challenging for the title this season that appears to be some of his usual mind games. This is a side that are a real threat and judging by Arsenal’s stuttering form, the Blues look to be fighting out with Manchester City for the championship even if the Gunners and perhaps Liverpool are not yet out of the running. Spurs meanwhile still have questions to answer. They are four points outside a Champions League spot, but Manchester City, the team above them, have two games in hand. The north London side will need to conjure up a tremendous run to put themselves back in contention, but judging how things stand they aren’t likely to grab much from this London derby. Chelsea 2-1 Tottenham.
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