Chelsea and Tottenham go head to head at Stamford Bridge on Thursday night in the second leg of their Carabao Cup clash. They go into the game with Tottenham holding a 1-0 advantage, meaning this game is set up perfectly for the neutrals. With Chelsea at home they are going to attack Spurs, and this really looks to be a tight game, with a lot at stake for both teams. The winner makes it through to Wembley, and they will go up against Manchester City in the final to win the first trophy of the season, something that will give the team a huge boost just when it is needed towards the end of the season.

What Happened in the First Leg?

The first leg between these two was a couple of weeks ago, and as expected with it being a semi final, both teams played relatively strong teams, with just a couple of changes on each side. Tottenham took the lead through a Harry Kane penalty, which was controversial in the fact that VAR played a role in the build up. Kane was judged to be offside by the linesman when breaking through but instead of blowing his whistle, the referee allowed play to develop, which is the right thing to do when VAR is in play. Kane was then brought down in the box, which was no doubt a penalty. The referee used VAR to decide on the offside decision to start off with, and when he found that Kane was onside, he gave the penalty to Spurs which they converted. It may have been a little controversial but it is exactly these situations where VAR is brilliant, and the referee used it to perfection.

Tottenham’s Injury Crisis

Just when Spurs have a run of important Premier League games, a cup semi final, an FA Cup game and a European tie on the horizon, the last thing Tottenham need is an injury crisis, but that is exactly what they have. Son Heung-Min is currently away with South Korea and will be unavailable until the middle of February, which was always going to hurt them, but on top of that they have far bigger worries.

Harry Kane is out until early March after being injured against Manchester United and he has been joined on the sidelines by Dele Alli, who picked up an injury against Fulham. Those two are amongst the most important players that they have, with Kane leading the line and being their most important player, and biggest goal scoring threat. Lucas Moura has not been seen for a while and although he is coming back to fitness now, he is going to take a couple of games to get back up to speed so it is likely to be the end of the month before we see anything major from him.

That leaves Tottenham short on numbers going forward, and we all saw on Sunday that their second striker Fernando Llorente is severely lacking in confidence right now, and is struggling for goals. Other than Christian Eriksen, Spurs have little else of top quality going forward, and that is going to make things very tough for them. They have a solid back line, and we may see them employ a slighlty more defensive look to their game while these players are out, in an attempt to concede less goals and put less emphasis on scoring them.

Can Chelsea Gain Momentum to Move into Third?

Alongside playing in the Carabao Cup semi final, these two are also likely to be the teams battling it out to finish third in the Premier League. Tottenham are currently holding onto that position, with 51 points, while Chelsea are back in fourth on 47.

Chelsea will see the position that Tottenham are in right now with injuries and they will think they have a chance to take third place from them. There would be no better way to start that challenge than by beating them in this semi final to reach the Carabao Cup final. With games coming thick and fast for Spurs, their injuries are going to pile up and harm them, leaving the door open for someone to pounce and the club closest to them is Chelsea.

This is obviously a big game with the winner reaching the final of this competition, this is also a big test for the future and potentially a huge mental boost for Chelsea. There is much more to this game, and The Blues will be looking to take advantage of that.

Chelsea vs Tottenham Betting Tips

Under normal circumstances, there would be little to choose between these two teams and we saw that in the first leg. During that game, there was little to split them, and while Tottenham played very well in the first half and deserved their lead, Chelsea dominated the latter parts of the game and may have felt a little unlucky to not bag an equaliser during that period of the game. However, with the injuries that Totteham have picked up since that game, I think that hands the advantage to Chelsea, and that is going to be enough to give them the victory in this one, and a place in the final.

Without Kane, Son and Alli, Tottenham are seriously lacking in goal scorers, and that is going to make things tough. While they will try and defend strongly to keep a clean sheet, with Chelsea being at home, I think their fans will spurr them on and eventually the pressure will show. Chelsea were unlucky not to score in the first leg, I don’t think they will miss the same chances again in this one.

There is much more at stake here than just a win and a place in the Carabao Cup final, there is also a lot of momentum at stake for the future. Chelsea will see this as a chance to lay down a marker and show Tottenham that they are going to put up a strong challenge for third place, something that Spurs may struggle to go up against with their injuries.

This is a vitally important time of the season for Tottenham, and I don’t think it is going to go too well for them. Over the coming weeks I think we will see them lose in Europe, lose here and also lose third place to Chelsea in the Premier League.

I am backing a Chelsea win, and the start of what is going to be a good spell for them and what looks set to be a bad few weeks for Tottenham.

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