Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Football London
Football London
Sport
Connor O'Neill

'A season-defining period' - Pundits predict outcome of Chelsea vs Tottenham

Tottenham will be hoping to return to winning ways after their midweek Champions League defeat to RB Leipzig against Chelsea on Saturday.

Timo Werner’s second half penalty was enough to hand German side a 1-0 win leaving Jose Mourinho’s men with it all to do in the second leg.

But with Spurs now stripped of long-term injury victim Son Heung-min with a broken arm as well as Harry Kane, the north London club face a battle to secure Champions League football next season.

Just a point separates the two sides heading into the clash at Stamford Bridge and below is how a trio of pundits see the game panning out.

Michael Owen - BetVictor - Chelsea win

Spurs will leapfrog London rivals Chelsea and move into the top four with a win although the news earlier in the week that Son Heung-min had joined Harry Kane on the sidelines sways me further towards the hosts, despite their home defeat at the hands of Manchester United on Monday.

Frank Lampard’s side did not get the rub of the green against United, but I felt the best side won on the night and with Bayern Munich visiting the Bridge on Tuesday in the Champions League, this is a season-defining period for the Blues who have already lost seven times in front of their home supporters this campaign.

Mark Lawrenson - BBC Sport- 2-0 Chelsea

I am going with Chelsea here. Their win at Tottenham before Christmas was one of Frank Lampard's best moments as Blues boss, and I think he will do the double and take another three points off Jose Mourinho on Saturday.

It is always interesting whenever Mourinho goes back to Stamford Bridge, but I don't think this will be a happy return for him.

He is running out of options up front because of the amount of injuries Spurs have had, and I just cannot see them causing Chelsea many problems.

Charlie Nicholas - Sky Sports- 2-1 Chelsea

This is a massive game in the context of the top four. The serious interest is at the bottom, but the potentials for the top four is phenomenal. The fascination is Chelsea's home form, which has been awful.

The youngsters have come out of the picture a bit, and it was always going to be an up-and-down season.

Tottenham were patting themselves on the back after their match against RB Leipzig. But why? They turned up for 15-20 minutes. Heung-Min Son is now injured, so what is their out ball?

Tottenham players celebrate the Premier League victory over Aston Villa. ((Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images))

Lucas Moura played on the shoulder when he was scoring, so he could get in behind. But he does not link the play up; that is not his game. You can already see why they miss Christian Eriksen.

They did get some fabulous money for him but you can see the difference in where Tottenham are going.

Chelsea and Tottenham do not like each other one bit, and it's Lampard against Mourinho. I am expecting there to be major discipline issues here; it will be a tense and aggressive affair.

I am struggling to separate these two as you do not know what will you get off them. I would play Olivier Giroud, not Michy Batshuayi, and see how you go for 65-70 minutes. They need an out-ball to get up the pitch. That is my point regarding Moura - Tottenham need to be able to get out.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.