Tottenham v Chelsea Tips: Don’t expect goals in Sunday’s London derby
By Peter Galindo
Tottenham v Chelsea Odds24 February 2023
Two of the most polarising clubs in the Premier League square off on Sunday with the chance to right the ship.
Tottenham enter Sunday’s London derby in decent form after logging three wins from their last four league games. That burst of points has led to them grabbing fourth position, albeit with just a one-point advantage over Newcastle United, who have a game in hand.
Meanwhile, Chelsea haven’t won any of their last four league matches and have shockingly tasted defeat on three occasions in that span. Another loss to Spurs would practically rule out a top-four finish for the Blues.
Physios under pressure
Both teams have a slew of injuries. Goalkeeper Hugo Lloris and midfielders Yves Bissouma, Rodrigo Bentancur and Ryan Sessegnon are still out for Spurs, so Oliver Skipp, Ben Davies and Richarlison may keep their spots in the side that beat West Ham United 2-0 last weekend.
Veteran defender Cesar Azpilicueta joined Armando Broja, Christian Pulisic, N'Golo Kante and Edouard Mendy on the sidelines for Chelsea due to concussion protocol. Graham Potter may make a couple of changes as a result, which could mean Reece James, Thiago Silva, Mykhailo Mudryk and Kai Havertz all return to the lineup.
What are the best bets?
Considering Chelsea’s attacking woes as of late – 10 of their previous 11 Premier League games have seen under 2.5 goals scored – it would be safe to assume that there may not be much goalmouth action in this, and that may suit Tottenham. Five of the last six home matches for Spurs against Chelsea in all competitions have resulted in two or fewer goals being scored.
Chelsea are traditionally successful in this fixture, though. They have lost just one of their last 12 matches against their neighbours in all competitions, and have scored at least twice in four of their last five matches against Spurs.
Something has to give on Sunday, but chances are this will be a cagey affair, especially when Harry Kane has failed to score in five of his past six appearances against Chelsea.