Its Thomas Tuchel against Antonio Conte, Blue against Coy, Chelsea against Spurs – what could possibly go wrong!?
Two sides who are vying to stake a claim for the ‘pride of London’ meet at the Bridge on Sunday evening. These games always captivate the attention and hardly ever disappoint. Its Thomas Tuchel against Antonio Conte, Blue against Coy, Chelsea against Spurs – what could possibly go wrong!?
Ps. I’m absolutely buzzing for this one – bullish prediction and all!
To Win (90 mins)
Chelsea 12/10
Draw 24/10
Tottenham 23/10
Chelsea
Chelsea saw their domestic season opener against Everton decided by Jorginho’s penalty at Goodison Park. Thomas Tuchel gave debut starts to Kalidou Koulibaly and Raheem Sterling, but in what was a seriously scrappy affair – I count myself disappointed by that Chelsea performance.
To be fair, Chelsea played in relative comfort and limited pressure on their defensive line…but you must read that in context. They played an Everton side completely devoid of any attacking threat!
Now before I am accused of falsifying a narrative, Raheem Sterling showed he will bring certain quality and pace to this Chelsea outfit. Koulibaly’s composure on the ball and ability to play out looks as though he is a player from the preface of the Tuchel bible and Marc Cucurella never really got into the game – but his nippy approach continues to intrigue…
Chelsea didn’t necessarily themselves ask any serious questions of Everton’s defence themselves but given the inability of their hosts going forward the Blues could almost afford to cruise. At the end of the day, they were able to get their season off to a winning start and not everyone on Merseyside can say that now, can they?
The media continue to suggest that Thomas Tuchel will want to bring in some new faces before the window closes at the end of the month – but I suspect that will be more of an embellishing task than anything else. This is a strong squad and whilst I think the attacking ability of Spurs can take advantage of their hosts – I wouldn’t read too much into the opening weekend.
Tottenham
Tottenham had to come from behind to get their league campaign off to a winning start. Spurs were inevitably comfortable winners against Southampton, but their response to a 12th minute James Ward-Prowse volley is what can be seen as more impressive.
Before the end of the first half, Spurs had edged ahead and seemed to grow in confidence with every passing minute thereafter.
They went forward with direct intention and looked as though they could score whenever they won possession of the football.
Antonio Conte lauded over their performance and rightly so! The Italian manager would have been most impressed with the way his side worked off the ball, putting pressure on the Saints in the right moments and wanting to close their central space with unmatched aggression.
Conte has invited supporters to be ‘dreamers’ and with a full preparation complete, a full season ahead and new faces in the camp…this isn’t a manager who is seen as a serial winner for no reason.
Yes, it is still early on but there’s a good feeling around that Spurs camp and serious expectation of success.
The boys from North London will go into this derby full of confidence after seeing their side put out an entertaining and positive display of football already.
I think their attacking threats can get into possession which put Chelsea under all sorts of pressure – and then you couple this with the work to close spaces the likes of Mason Mount and Sterling would otherwise want to occupy.
Prediction: Tottenham (23/10)
I think Spurs win this, and with all the respect in the world, I say this with banker, provident fund, and delirious confidence!
Spurs should be a banker in all bets this weekend, hell it should be part of the Sunday roast. 23/10 is an invitation to profitable euphoria – why on earth would you pass this us?
