Prediction: Chelsea vs Tottenham

With Tottenham emerging victorious in the 2008 League Cup final, Chelsea will have an extra incentive to win the clash at Wembley and secure the first major title of the season. Meanwhile, Spurs will be hoping to repeat the heroics from seven years ago and put an end to the lengthy trophy drought.

While the Premiership title remains the main objective for Chelsea this season, the Blues have got an excellent opportunity to also lift the Capital One Cup trophy and no doubt they will be fully focused on task at hand. Jose Mourinho’s side have shown incredible consistency this term, suffering just several slip-ups since the campaign started and they are rightly considered odds on favourites to triumph at Wembley. The team did struggle to play to their potential in their last two fixtures against Paris Saint-Germain and Burnley, but Jose Mourinho will know how to fine-tune his team to ensure they deliver on Sunday afternoon. Chelsea will be without important midfielder Nemanja Matic, who starts a two-match ban, but Brazilian Ramires can be trusted to get the job done against Spurs. The most important thing is that Cesc Fabregas has fully recovered from injury and with Eden Hazard also in rich vein of form, the Blues have plenty of reason for optimism at the moment. The wealth of experience in playing these kinds of matches should also give the Stamford Bridge outfit an extra edge and it is clear the coveted trophy is theirs to lose.

Spurs haven’t had much to cheer about since said League Cup win in 2008, although they did lose to Manchester United on penalties in next year’s final. The White Hart Lane outfit have even struggled to make it to Premiership top 4 of late, and it looks as though they will again miss out on Champions League qualification. Mauricio Pochettino’s charges did play some very good games this season, the 5-3 home win over Chelsea included, but the lack of consistency is proving to be a major issue, with Spurs already out of the FA Cup and Europa League. The team have been far too reliant on the red-hot Harry Kane of late, but there is only so much the talented forward can do on his own, while the poor form of their most creative player Christian Eriksen is a major cause for concern. Spurs have now failed to win any of their last four matches on all fronts and I really cannot see them pipping Chelsea to the Capital One Cup title all over again. The good news is there are no selection worries for manager Mauricio Pochettino, who will have a number of star players back after they were rested at Artemio Franchi.

Conclusion

Chelsea have a real knack for playing these high-profile matches and I have absolutely no doubts they will produced a strong performance in Sunday’s game at Wembley. Spurs, on the other hand, are going through a difficult patch at the moment and the fact this will be the first major final for the majority of their players is unlikely to help.

Verdict: Chelsea Home win (1)

Best Odds: 7/10

Bookmaker: bet365