Chelsea FC will welcome Tottenham Hotspur to Stamford Bridge on Sunday in what will hopefully be a fiery and entertaining London derby

Chelsea will come into the match having suffered an ignominious one-all draw against Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. that leaves them with an outside chance of catching Manchester City in first place.

Although Chelsea are more than likely out of the title race a win on Sunday is still vital for their season. The main reason for this is their upcoming participation in the club world cup meaning they will not play any premier league games which will allow the clubs around them to try and close the gap.

Meanwhile, a win for Tottenham would greatly improve their chances of finishing in the top four and qualifying for Europe next season.

The main reason for this is that they have played significantly fewer games than the teams around them. They have played four games fewer than Chelsea in third, one game less than their bitter rivals Arsenal FC in sixth, and three games less than West Ham United who currently occupy fourth place.

Team news

Chelsea coach Thomas Tuchel has got a few injury worries ahead of the match with Tottenham. Ben Chilwell continues to miss out as he tries to recover from a serious knee injury. Fellow defenders Trevoh Chalobah and Reece James are also doubtful for the match on Sunday along with Édouard Mendy, however, Andreas Christensen could return if he is fit enough.

Antonio Conte has also got several problems ahead of the match against Chelsea. Foward Heung Min Son is still out and not expected to recover until after the upcoming international break, Conte has also two other injury concerns but bizzarly has not mentioned which players they are. However, Eric Dier is fit again and in contention to start against Chelsea.

Predicted lineups

Chelsea FC: Kepa, Sarr, Silva, Rudiger, Lewis Hall, Kante, Jorginho, Azpilicueta, Mount, Lukaku, Werner

Tottenham Hotspur: Lloris, Sanchez, Dier, Davies, Doherty, Skipp, Hojbjerg, Winks, Reguilon, Bergwijn, Kane

Players to watch

Mason Mount 

Since Romelu Lukaku has returned from his injury Chelsea have drawn too many games, with Lukaku not scoring and Reece James still out Chelsea have had to find a different solution to help them create chances in the final third, fortunately, Mason Mount has stepped up.

Mount is Chelsea's third-highest goalscorer with seven goals only one behind Lukaku in second. In addition, mount is the joint top player in terms of assists along with Reece James. His energy and movement will be vital if Chelsea want to beat Tottenham.

Harry Kane

Harry Kane had a very slow start to the season however since Conte has taken over at Tottenham he has looked a changed player and is starting to rediscover his scoring form.

Kane is the club's top scorer with 11 goals two ahead of Son in second. The most notable difference under Conte is that Kane is running a lot more as well as staying higher up the pitch rather than dropping deep to receive the ball. Kane will be hoping he can score against Chelsea at the weekend and help his team win.

Last time out

The last time these two met was ten days ago in the second leg of the league cup semi-final, Chelsea won the match one-nil.

Chelsea went into the match with a two-nil lead on aggregate and as a result, the match started off at a fairly slow pace with both teams giving away cheap fouls.

Chelsea got their first major chance in the 12th minute. Antonio Rudiger bulldozed his way through the rigid Tottenham defence before playing a ball through to Lukaku however his shot from the center of the box was saved by Hugo Lloris in the Tottenham goal.

The first goal came five minutes later. Mason Mount received the ball short from a corner before whipping a delicious cross that Rudiger got on the end of and rifled his header past a stranded Lloris.

Tottenham's best chance of the first half came in the 37th minute. Lucas Moura went on one of his trademark mazy runs before feeding the ball to Emerson Royal on the right-hand side of the Chelsea box who unleashed a venomous strike towards the Chelsea goal however Mendy denied him.

The second half started much quicker than the first half with Chelsea defenders Rudiger and Malang Sarr going close before the 50th-minute mark.

Tottenham thought they had won a  penalty in the 57th minute but VAR overturned it. Tottenham continued to push and in the 60th minute, Emerson went close again with a header following a Ben Davies cross that was saved by Mendy.

Finally, in the 64th minute, Tottenham managed to put the ball into the Chelsea goal however, like the penalty decision earlier VAR overturned as Kane was deemed to be in an offside position. Both teams continued to push but couldn't score any more goals meaning the match finished one-nil to Chelsea.

How to watch

Fans in the UK will be able to watch the match from 4:30 pm on Sunday via Sky Sports as part of their Super Sunday program.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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