Chelsea and Tottenham square off in a massive London derby at Stamford Bridge on Thursday as both teams need a win to boost their European hopes.
Remember when these bitter rivals met earlier this season? Spurs were down to nine men in the first half and Chelsea finally won 4-1 late on after Tottenham had threatened to win against all the odds in a classic.
WATCH CHELSEA v TOTTENHAM LIVE
Mauricio Pochettino’s Chelsea are scrapping for sixth and if they win this game in-hand they will be just three points behind sixth-placed Manchester United with four games to go. Chelsea are such a strange team their 2-2 draw at Aston Villa summed them up perfectly in this transitional season under Poch. They created chances galore but found themselves 2-0 down at half time, then surged back brilliantly in the second half to make it 2-2 and they should have won it late on. It has been a rollercoaster of a season for the Blues, but finishing sixth or seventh would represent a decent achievement given all of their injuries.
Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham have lost two in a row, including the north London derby 3-2 at home to Arsenal last time out. Spurs were 3-0 down at half time despite playing well and although they surged back to score a couple late on to make it interesting, there is a real lack of discipline about their play which has held them back after their superb start to the season . They are now seven points behind fourth-place Aston Villa and despite having two games in-hand on Villa, Spurs have to play all of Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City in their final five games.
How to watch Chelsea vs Tottenham live, stream link and start time
Kick off: 2:30pm ET Thursday (May 2)
TV Channel: Peacock Premium
Online: Premier League on Peacock
Chelsea focus, team news
Chelsea’s injury issues have been absolutely bonkers all season long and they’ve lost some more key players recently with Enzo Fernandez, Malo Gusto and now Thiago Silva all going down. Pochettino has had to shuffle his defensive unit all season long but in midfield and attack it has been pretty settled in recent weeks with Gallagher, Caicedo, Palmer, Jackson, Madueke and Mudryk impressing as a unit.
OUT: Enzo Fernandez (groin), Christopher Nkunku (thigh), Reece James (thigh), Romeo Lavia (hamstring – out for season), Wesley Fofana (torn ACL – out for season), Lesley Ugochukwu (hamstring), Malo Gusto (knee), Thiago Silva (hip), Carney Chukwuemeka (knee), Axel Disasi (knock) | QUESTIONABLE: Levi Colwill (foot), Ben Chilwell (knee), Raheem Sterling (lower back)
Tottenham focus, team news
Spurs have Udogie out at left back which causes big problems to the way they play, while Timo Werner came off injured against Arsenal so Brennan Johnson is likely to start out wide. Or, Son could start out on the left and Richarlison could play through the middle. Midfield is also intriguing as Hojbjerg and Bentancur got the nod over Bissouma and Sarr for the NLD but the latter duo impressed when they came on and could start against Chelsea.
OUT: Destiny Udogie (thigh), Manor Solomon (knee), Ryan Sessegnon (thigh), Fraser Forster (foot), Timo Werner (hamstring), Ben Davies (calf)
