MY ACCOUNT
– Chelsea have failed to win any of their last seven Premier League away matches
– Tottenham have not won any of their last 12 matches against Chelsea
– Recommended bet: Draw
A trip to Tottenham is something Chelsea tend to enjoy as they have won four of their last five league and cup visits there, including the last three, without conceding a goal.
Spurs did secure a shootout win in the League Cup in 2020 but that represents the north London side’s only victory of any sort, home or away, in any of their last 12 meetings with the Blues.
However, the pressure is already on manager Graham Potter with the big-spending Blues languishing in mid-table and struggling for goals.
Chelsea have scored multiple goals in a game only once in their last 14 Premier League matches.
Tottenham, meanwhile, will hope to take advantage of Newcastle being in Carabao Cup final action and widen the gap between themselves and the Magpies in the race for fourth spot.
Spurs have been inconsistent of late but at least have the confidence gained from successive home victories over Manchester City and West Ham, in which their often shaky-looking defence have not conceded.
Team news
Tottenham have no fresh concerns but they could have done without injuries to goalkeeper Hugo Lloris and midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur, whose knee injury will keep him out for the remainder of the campaign.
Oliver Skipp performed well in the Spurs midfield in the 2-0 win over the Hammers and he looks set to keep his place, while reserve custodian Fraser Forster at least brings some experience between the posts.
Chelsea will be without Cesar Azpilicueta after he suffered a head injury in the 1-0 defeat at home to Southampton last week, but Potter should have plenty of options if he wishes to shuffle the pack following that defeat to the south-coast strugglers.
Midfielder N’Golo Kante and forward Christian Pulisic are both set to miss out.
The stats
Tottenham have a miserable record against Chelsea and they needed a last-gasp equaliser from Harry Kane to grab an undeserved draw at Stamford Bridge earlier this season.
Spurs failed to score in any of the four league and cup games they played against Chelsea last season and their last league victory over their London rivals came in November 2018 when they gained a 3-1 home success.
However, Chelsea have scored more than one goal in just one of their last 14 league games and just one of their last 11 outings have featured more than three goals in total.
The Blues have been victorious in only one of their last 10 games, are winless in five of which they have failed to score in four, and go into this game on the back of successive 1-0 defeats.
Tottenham have kept clean sheets in their last two home games against Manchester City and West Ham, but they had lost four of their five matches on their own patch before those victories.
Prediction
Despite Chelsea’s fine record at Spurs, they are struggling to get over the line and they have earned just four points from seven games on the road since they won 2-0 at Aston Villa on October 16.
However, in only one of those games — a 4-1 loss at Potter’s former club Brighton — did they suffer a heavy defeat while their 2-1 reverse at Fulham can be partly explained by having to play the final 32 minutes with 10 men following Joao Felix’s red card.
Tottenham had plenty of space against a poor West Ham team last week and while they exploited that with two excellent goals from Emerson Royal and Heung-Min Son, they are unlikely to enjoy that freedom again.
Chelsea have earned draws at Nottingham Forest, Liverpool and West Ham this year, and they have made a habit of not losing to Spurs.
