Tottenham mark their opening home game of the season by playing Chelsea at Wembley on Sunday afternoon. Spurs will play at Wembley for this season, while their new ground in North London is being constructed. It hasn’t been a happy hunting ground for Mauricio Pochettino’s side, as they’ve won just once in nine appearances there, and they had a disappointing Champions League campaign at the home of English football last season.
Spurs had a solid start to the season last weekend, with a 2-0 victory over Newcastle. Pochettino has yet to add any new signings to his squad, but talks are underway with a number of targets, as deadline day looms ever closer.
Meanwhile, Spurs’ opponents Chelsea are in disarray following their Premier League title success last season. The Blues have failed to build on their triumph and instead have sold a number of players, including Nemanja Matic. There is the long-running saga surrounding Diego Costa also facing Chelsea and their off-field problems made their way on-field last weekend.
Antonio Conte’s side suffered a shock home defeat against Burnley, in a game that saw both Gary Cahill and Cesc Fabregas both sent off. The Blues were 3-0 down at half time, before the introduction of Alvaro Morata, who helped his new side finish the game with a scoreline of 3-2.
Tottenham Hotspur vs. Chelsea Predictions
This promises to be a close game. Spurs won last week, although Harry Kane failed to score and has still never scored in the month of August. How they react to playing at Wembley will also be interesting. Chelsea have to win, just to give their season a bit of a boost after a poor start.
Tottenham Hotspur vs. Chelsea Betting Tips
Head to Head
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This will be the first-ever Premier League game played at Wembley Stadium and it will be the 58th different stadium to host a game in the competition.
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Spurs went an entire campaign unbeaten at home in the league last season, the first time they’ve done this since 1964/65.
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Chelsea have lost just two of their last 17 games in all competitions against Tottenham (W8 D7 L2).
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Spurs haven’t lost a Premier League London derby at home under Mauricio Pochettino (W9 D4 L0).
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Spurs have won 14 consecutive home league games: their joint-longest ever winning run at home in league competition (also 14 wins in October 1987). The longest home winning run by a top flight-team was set by Liverpool between January and December 1972 (21 wins).
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Chelsea haven’t suffered a defeat in both of their opening two games to a league season since 1973/74, with one of those defeats also coming against Burnley.
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The last reigning top-flight champions to lose their opening two league games of the following season were Aston Villa in 1981/82.
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Since beating Chelsea in the 2008 League Cup final, Spurs have won just one of their last nine games at Wembley Stadium (W1 D2 L6). That win came against CSKA Moscow last season (3-1).
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Harry Kane’s next goal for Tottenham will be his 100th in all competitions for the club, though he’s failed to score in any of his 11 Premier League appearances in the month of August.
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Harry Kane has scored 18 goals in 21 Premier League London derbies since his brace against Chelsea on New Year’s Day in 2015.
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Since Alvaro Morata’s first season as a top-flight player (2010/11), the Spanish striker has scored more goals as a substitute in the big five European leagues than any other player.
Tottenham Hotspur Team News
Mauricio Pochettino has no concerns following Spurs’ victory over Newcastle, but Kieran Trippier remains out until the beginning of September. Victor Wanyama and Heung-min Son could be in contention to start this weekend.
Predicted Spurs XI: Hugo Lloris, Jan Vertonghen, Toby Alderweireld, Eric Dier, Kyle Walker-Peters, Victor Wanyama, Mousa Dembele, Ben Davies, Christian Eriksen, Dele Alli, Harry Kane
Chelsea Team News
Chelsea’s squad is threadbare following the red cards shown to both Gary Cahill and Cesc Fabregas last weekend. Victor Moses returns from suspension, meaning that Cesar Azpilicueta reverts to the right of the back three. Andreas Christensen could be given an opportunity. David Luiz could start in midfield, with Fabregas suspended and Tiemoue Bakayoko injured.
Predicted Chelsea XI: Thibaut Courtois, Cesar Azpilicueta, Andreas Christensen, Antonio Rudiger, Victor Moses, David Luiz, N’Golo Kante, Marcos Alonso, Willian, Michy Batshuayi, Alvaro Morata