A huge London derby at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium rounds off Matchday 11 in the Premier League. We look ahead to Monday’s game with our Tottenham vs Chelsea prediction and preview.
Tottenham vs Chelsea: Quick Hits
- Tottenham are predicted to maintain their unbeaten start to life under Ange Postecoglou, with the Opta supercomputer giving them a 42.5% chance of beating Chelsea (29%).
- Mauricio Pochettino will become the fifth former Spurs boss to face them in a Premier League match, after Martin Jol, Chris Hughton, Harry Redknapp and Tim Sherwood. Three of the previous four have managed at least one win against their old club.
- Postecoglou could become just the third manager to go unbeaten through his first 11 games as a Premier League boss, after Frank Clark (11) in 1994 and Maurizio Sarri (12) in 2018.
Match Preview
Having led Tottenham to four successive top-four Premier League finishes and the 2019 UEFA Champions League final, Mauricio Pochettino was surely the most beloved coach in Spurs’ modern history. On Monday, he will go up against a man with his own designs on such adulation, as Chelsea face Ange Postecoglou’s revitalised side in a huge London derby.
Pochettino took charge of Spurs for 202 league matches during his successful five-year stint in north London – more than any other manager in their Premier League history. He will become the fifth former Tottenham boss to face them in the competition on Monday, after Martin Jol, Chris Hughton, Harry Redknapp and Tim Sherwood. Redknapp was the only one not to record a win against Spurs after leaving them.
In the dugout that Pochettino once frequented, Postecoglou has made the best-ever start by a Premier League manager across his first 10 games, leading Spurs to eight wins and two draws to ensure they entered Matchday 11 top of the table with 26 points. Only two managers have ever avoided defeat in their first 11 Premier League matches: Nottingham Forest’s Frank Clark in 1994 and Chelsea’s Maurizio Sarri in 2018, with the latter going 12 games without losing.
It’s fair to say Pochettino has found the going more difficult at Chelsea. The Blues suffered their fourth Premier League defeat of the season last week as west London rivals Brentford triumphed 2-0 at Stamford Bridge, with Ethan Pinnock heading in the opener before Bryan Mbeumo made certain of the result in stoppage time, capitalising on goalkeeper Robert Sánchez going up for a late corner.
Since the departure of Graham Potter in April, Chelsea’s return of just 18 points is fewer than all ever-present Premier League sides except Bournemouth, who have matched the Blues’ total. They did enjoy a successful EFL Cup outing on Wednesday, however, with returning defender Benoît Badiashile joining Raheem Sterling on the scoresheet in a 2-0 win over Blackburn Rovers.
Pochettino has called for fans to have patience, with Chelsea having named starting lineups with the third-youngest average age in the Premier League this season (24 years, 352 days), behind Burnley (24y, 170d) and Arsenal (24y, 335d).
Nine players aged 21 or younger have made their first Premier League appearance for the Blues this season – Lesley Ugochukwu, Malo Gusto, Levi Colwill, Ian Maatsen, Mason Burstow, Moisés Caicedo, Cole Palmer, Alex Matos and Deivid Washington – a record for any team through the first 10 games of a Premier League campaign.
Though Ben Chilwell and Christopher Nkunku are still sidelined, Chelsea have Reece James available again after their captain’s injury-hit start to 2023-24. Armando Broja and Mykhailo Mudryk may also feature against Spurs with the Blues’ injury crisis beginning to ease.
Tottenham, meanwhile, are looking to beat a third London rival in as many matches, having followed up a 2-0 victory over Fulham with a hard-fought 2-1 win at Crystal Palace on Matchday 10. Palace defender Joel Ward diverted James Maddison’s cross into his own net to put Spurs ahead before captain Son Heung-min converted from Brennan Johnson’s cut-back, making Jordan Ayew’s late volley a mere consolation.
Leave a Reply