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The 2nd leg of the EFL Cup Semi Final is here and Chelsea will look to overcome a 0-1 deficit against injury riddled Tottenham at Stamford Bridge.
It’s best to start off with the hosts. Chelsea are coming off a pathetic performance where manager Maurizio Sarri blasted the team for a lack of mentality after losing 2-0 to Arsenal in the league.
Chelsea in general haven’t performed well in recent weeks with most players including Eden Hazard being out of form.
Chelsea’s biggest problem has been goal scoring as neither of their strikers have been able to provide goals this club have really struggled to score goals therefore they’ve been mainly relying on solid defending to get results recently.
Chelsea have been relatively dominant at Stamford Bridge this season only losing ONE game in all competitions.
Against the big teams at Stamford Bridge Chelsea have not lost this season beating Arsenal and Man City while drawing Liverpool and Man Utd.
Despite his recent struggles, Eden Hazard is still the man to watch out for Chelsea as he’s the main source of creativity.
Chelsea have dominated Tottenham at Stamford Bridge the past 3 decades, however they did get their 27 year unbeaten run at Home to Spurs ended last season with a 1-3 loss.
Tottenham are currently enduring a massive injury crisis with Son, Kane and now Alli out the biggest question is where are the goals going to come from considering that holding Chelsea off at Stamford Bridge is unlikely, Spurs will need somebody to provide something up front.
Tottenham are looking to make their first cup final since 2015 which was also the EFL Cup final where they lost. Spurs are currently enduring a 11 year trophy drought and this may be their best shot at a trophy since they last won it.
Despite missing Kane and Son, Spurs managed to come away with a 1-2 win recently against Fulham, but Fulham are of course in the relegation zone so that win should’ve came regardless.
Spurs have been a much better away team than a Home team this season strangely winning 11 of 13 away games in the league, plus they eliminated Arsenal at the Emirates in the Cup.
Spurs have only visited 2 big teams away from home this season so far and defeated Man Utd 0-3 and Arsenal 0-2 (cup) while also losing to the same Arsenal in the league 4-2.
Spurs have won both times this season against Chelsea, however both were at Wembley. Spurs won 3-1 and 1-0 and all goals were scored by Kane (2), Alli (1), Son (1) who are all as mentioned out.
Despite losing the reverse fixture, Chelsea were the team that dominated for the most parts of the game and definitely didn’t deserve to lose however failing to take their chances did cost them and they must address this issue coming into this game since they will likely need to score 2+ goals.
The man that Spurs mainly will rely on here to create will be Christian Eriksen as the wcreative midfielder is one of the few available key attackers. He could definitely create something out of nothing.
Bookies currently have Chelsea as massive favourites at 1.63 and understandably so with all the absentees that Tottenham have. The draw is priced at 4.05 while Spurs to win at 6.10. In terms of qualifying to the Final the bookies got these teams dead even at 1.90-1.90 despite Spurs having an advantage.
Team News
Chelsea: Ruben Loftus-Cheek is the only player out for Chelsea while Alvaro Morata will likely not be involved as his anticipated move to Atletico is nearing completion. Sarri blasted his team on Saturday after losing to Arsenal so be aware of rotation. Hazard will probably continue to start at false 9 but Giroud is always an option up front. Higuain is unavailable as he couldn’t complete his move in time.
Tottenham Hotspur: Son, Kane and Alli are all out as already mentioned. Moussa Sissoko and Lucas Moura are both expected to return however for Spurs which is a good boost for them. Moussa Dembele has now departed the club while Victor Wanyama is unlikely to play despite returning to training. Fernando Llorente is expected to start up front in Kane’s absence. Lamela will probably occupy Son’s spot and Lucas will start in Alli’s spot if fit.
Betting Stats
*All of these stats are going to be Premier League based despite it being a cup tie since both clubs are from the Premier League
Chelsea are only 16th in total goal overs covered at Stamford Bridge this season at 41.7% (5-7).
Chelsea are just 18th in total 1st half goal overs covered at Stamford Bridge this season at 25% (3-1-8).
Eden Hazard and Pedro have the tied most Chelsea goals at Stamford Bridge in the BPL this season with 5 each. Dangerous duo.
Chelsea average 1.16 bookings at Stamford Bridge (14 in 12 BPL Home Games).
Chelsea are 10th at covering Handicaps at Stamford Bridge at 41.7% (5-1-6).
Tottenham have the 5th highest % of covered total goal overs away from home this season at 69.2% (9-4).
Tottenham have the 8th highest % of covered total 1st half goal overs away from this season at 46.2% (6-7). Goals tend to fly in more often in their 2nd halves.
Kane and Son are Spurs top scorers away from home, however with them out the next highest scorers are Lamela and Lucas with 3 away goals each in the BPL.
Tottenham average 1.92 bookings away from home in the BPL (25 bookings in 13 away games)
Tottenham are 2nd best in the BPL at covering Handicaps away from home this season at 76.9% (10-1-2).
KICK OFF – 24th January 2019 – 7:45pm UK Time
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