Will Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho be smiling after his sides game at Tottenham on New Years Day
By the time Chelsea make the short trip across London to face Tottenham at White Hart Lane in the late kick-off today the Blues could be second in the Premier League table.
Reigning champions Manchester City could leapfrog Jose Mourinho’s men with a three goal victory against Sunderland at the Etihad Stadium in one of the afternoon kick-offs.
For a long time Chelsea have looked like champions elect, but City have closed the gap in the last few weeks.
Away
Chelsea’s recent away record is not great, as they have claimed just one win on their travels in their last four games.
The Blues record at White Hart Lane is also not great, as they have won just once in their last eight visits to Spurs.
The side from north London have however failed to defeat the Blues in any of the last ten competitive meetings between the pair.
Chelsea’s 1-1 draw at Southampton last time out was not the worst result in the world, but everybody connected with the Blues will be disappointed that they did not collect maximum points considering that they dominated the ball at times against the Saints.
Southampton are no pushovers and are hanging onto that fourth spot like their lives depended on it, so a draw at St Marys is not a terrible result, even if the Blues were expected to win on the south coast.
Form
Tottenham heads into this game on the back of their best run of form of the season. Mauricio Pochettino’s side are now unbeaten in five games after a goalless draw against Manchester United at the Lane last time out.
Their recent record of three wins, four draws and one defeat against Chelsea at White Hart Lane will give everybody involved with Spurs confidence that they could pick-up something from the game.
Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho has not won in his last two trips to Spurs, losing one and drawing one of the last two games at White Hart Lane. The Portuguese boss had won on both his previous visits to Tottenham.
Outstanding
Chelsea have been the outstanding team of the Premier League in the first half of the campaign, despite Manchester City’s late good form. The likes of Diego Costa, Eden Hazard and Cesc Fabregas have all hit top form.
Costa goal return of 13 in the Premier League puts him second in the Premier League scorers chart, with only Manchester City’s Sergio Aguero above him. The Spanish international has made a big impact in his Premier League debut campaign.
International teammate Cesc Fabregas has been the master creator of the Premier League this season. The former-Arsenal and Barcelona ace has created 13 goals for his teammates in just 18 Premier League appearances this season.
In fact Fabregas has five more assists than the next top assist scorer in the top-flight Swansea’s Gylfi Sigurdsson.
Hazard receives a lot of plaudits and has scored seven goals this season in the Premier League, as well as creating four goals for his teammates. Those stats do not look that impressive for one of the league’s top players, but his off the ball runs often create space for his teammates to work in.
Champions
This is the sort of difficult game that teams have to win to become champions. Spurs have found form and White Hart Lane is not an easy ground to visit, despite Spurs poor home form earlier in the campaign.
The trip to White Hart Lane could be a real test of Chelsea’s chances of becoming champions. A win would keep them ahead of nearest rivals Manchester City and in the driving seat in the title race.
A failure to win could put the pressure on the Blues, who last season lost a seven point lead at the top of the Premier League.
Betting News
This will not be an easy game for the Blues, but I certainly would not bet against Mourinho team’s picking up maximum points at White Hart Lane.
Could Chelsea come unstuck at Tottenham?
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