Chelsea vs Tottenham – Betting Tips and PL Preview

Jose Mourinho returns to Stamford Bridge, where he won three Premier League titles as manager of Chelsea, but as boss of Tottenham, he faces the task of motivating a team beaten 1-0 by Leipzig in midweek Champions League action and the winning margin could have been much greater. Bereft of two key players in attack, Spurs face a Chelsea outfit occupying fourth place in the league table but manager Frank Lampard will be aware that a home defeat will ensure the visitors overtaking his team with the possibility of finishing the weekend in the seventh position. It is a vital derby game for both teams.

For Chelsea, it will be a concern that their five Premier League home victories this season have all been registered against teams residing in the bottom half of the table. Their 2-0 defeat by Manchester United on Monday evening was also a seventh competitive loss at Stamford Bridge this term. Inconsistency seems to be plaguing the Blues at the moment, having lost four of their last seven league fixtures on home soil, but they did win at both Arsenal and Tottenham during December while earning a useful 2-2 draw at Leicester before their Winter break.

In the case of Tottenham, the loss of Son Heung-Min in attack for potentially the remainder of the season is a blow for Mourinho with Harry Kane already sidelined. Son had netted in the last five competitive matches for Spurs, including a very late winner when a 3-2 win at Aston Villa was earned in their previous league match. However, Tottenham have won just three Premier League matches on the road this term and there will also be some concern that but the saves of Hugo Lloris, Leipzig would have won more convincingly on Wednesday evening such was their superiority.

Team News

Marco Van Ginkel (knee) is sidelined for Chelsea alongside Ruben Loftus-Cheek (heel) and N’Golo Kante (leg muscle). Christian Pulisic (groin) and Callum Hudson-Odoi (hamstring) are also likely to miss this game, but Tammy Abraham (ankle) and Andreas Christensen (facial/head) could be available.

Harry Kane (hamstring), Moussa Sissoko (knee), and Son Heung-Min (arm) will not play for Tottenham as is the case with Juan Foyth (groin). Eric Lamela and Tanguy Ndombele could feature but they are not fully match-fit.

Prediction

Although both teams failed to find the net in their last competitive match, a glance at their form shows just three clean sheets each have been registered by Chelsea and Tottenham in competitive action since the beginning of December. Furthermore, the inconsistent home form of Chelsea in recent months is worth noting with no goals scored against Bournemouth, Southampton and Manchester United but netting at least twice when playing Burnley, Arsenal, and Aston Villa. Meanwhile, Spurs won 3-2 in both previous competitive games prior to the Leipzig defeat although Son netted three of those six goals. Yet it may still be a good idea to select Both Teams to Score priced at 3/4 with Bet365, as a decent bet.

A second pick is for Over 2.5 goals to be Scored offered at 4/5 by Bet365. Prior to their 2-0 defeat by Manchester United, Chelsea had netted at least twice in five of six previous games, and Frank Lampard could not believe his team failing to find the find during a dominant display in a 1-0 loss at Newcastle. While the Blues have also conceded twice in three of four prior fixtures, Tottenham have scored eight goals in three domestic games this month. Both attacks can be unpredictable whereas defensive lapses can also be a feature with these London rivals.